Renegade Knights
by Biana Delacroix
Summary: In the city of New Orleans, Klaus holds complete control of the board, but the peace is disrupted by the girl he hoped to love and the brother he thought long dead. With terrible secrets of their own, Kol and Caroline enlist Klaus to help them fight an even bigger threat to their world, and Caroline finds that after all that's happened, she and Klaus may finally have their chance.
1. Run This Town

**Author's Note: Happy Tuesday! This story has been my brainchild for the past 3 months, and after a long time of trying to sort out the plot, this is the end product. It takes place a few years in the future from the current canon of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, all plot points will slowly be explained. **

**A massive thank you to Jackie and Mal for reading this first! I hope you all enjoy this.**

**Disclaimer: God, if only.**

* * *

_Feel it comin' in the air  
Hear the screams from everywhere  
I'm addicted to the thrill  
It's a dangerous love affair  
_

_**THE WOODS OUTSIDE MYSTIC FALLS  
MARCH 2014**_

'Keep running, keep running. Don't look back.'

_Caroline sprinted through the woods, kicking up a small storm in her wake. Faster and faster and faster still, the world around her was a green blur but she didn't care, she pushed her body to the limits of her abilities, and still, it wasn't fast enough. She needed to run, she needed to leave everything behind, she couldn't look back, she could never, ever go back…_

_With a sharp gasp she skidded to a halt, the memories of the past hour slamming down on her in harsh detail. She stumbled and leaned against a tree for support, gulping down heavy breaths but it wasn't enough, she felt like she was suffocating. With a choked sob, she sank to the ground, bringing up a hand to cover her mouth – _

Blood, blood, think of all that blood…

_Caroline gagged and keeled over, coughing and sputtering. How had she forgotten her hands were still covered in blood? Horrified, she finally took the time to look herself over, her hands were stained red (forever, most likely) her clothes were covered in the evidence of the terror she had been responsible for. Her heart thrummed against her chest, the panic was overwhelming…_

'I can't go back, I can't go back…'

_This was the end then, this was where the story of Caroline Forbes screeched to a halt. No more pretty little blonde cheerleader, no more Vampire Barbie, no more of that life she had worked so hard to hold onto. This was where it ended. _

_The bark of the three scraped against the thin fabric of her shirt as she stretched her legs out in front of her, soft hiccups still rocking her chest. Her hands shook as her fingers sought out the gaudy ring on her left hand. So much power in one little object, so much power to grant and take the life of a vampire…_

_The sharp snap of a twig disturbed the heavy silence and Caroline whipped her head up. Her heart stopped. Of all the people who could've found her, all the people she had ever expected, he was so far down on that list. _

"_No. No, no this isn't possible – you're not –" The shock paralyzed her as she stared up at the intruder, who simply sauntered closer with a dark smirk before crouching down in front of her. He raked his narrowed eyes critically over her bloodstained body and he grinned to see the fear and confusion in her eyes. _

"_Relax, darling. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" _

_Caroline stuttered, shaking her head and pressing back against the tree, scrambling to her feet. The man in front of her rose to meet her and in the cold blue hues of early dawn she could see the sharp angle of his features, a face she never thought she'd see again._

_He broke the silence with a roll of his eyes and a low chuckle. "Go on darling, ask the question. I can tell you're dying to know." _

_Caroline found her voice then and gulped down her fear. Whatever death she might face, if it had to be at his hands she was damn well going to hold her head high. But he was right – she was stunned by this turn of events. _

"_Fine," she said, her voice quiet, but surprisingly steady. "I'll ask it – Kol, how are you alive?"_

* * *

_**THE FRENCH QUARTER OF NEW ORLEANS  
MARCH 2015**_

The sun was setting over Bourbon Street, the long rays disappearing over the edge of the old brick buildings, glinting off the skyscrapers in the distance. Slowly the noise rose, the vampires of the Quarter trickled out into the streets, whistling and laughing, the older ones leading the young. Together they drank and reveled, the scent of blood and bourbon wafting through the warm Louisiana air. Music floated out of the bars, and as the sun finally died the night began properly. Though, for all the appearance of it being a normal night in the French Quarter, not all were at liberty to relax.

Striding down the streets away from heart of his kingdom, Klaus Mikaelson allowed himself to enjoy his accomplishments. The city he could proudly call his kingdom was thriving, he had a home, and for the first time in a long time, he had his family by his side, no matter how much it had taken for all of them to come to the tentative truce. Of course, the events that led to the truce – well, they were better left not dwelt upon.

"I do worry when you're quiet, Niklaus."

Klaus rolled his eyes with a smirk as his older brother fell into step next to him, seemingly appearing out of the shadows. "Simply thinking on my victories," said Klaus smugly, not missing the exasperated sigh Elijah gave.

"Humility never did suit you," said Elijah shaking his head. "But where are you going tonight?"

"Lafayette Cemetery, Marcel had something I needed to see, apparently." Klaus was stopped in his tracks by Elijah's hand on his shoulder, he turned to see his brother looking suspicious.

"You as well? He sent me a similar message." Elijah had never cared much for 'ruling' New Orleans, but standing by his brother's side meant he was constantly on the lookout for anything that might threaten the hold the Original family had on the city.

Klaus waved off his brother's paranoia, knowing how every little thing was enough to make him think the sky was going to fall on their heads. "Relax brother, what harm could Marcel possibly do?"

"Need I remind you that he had _complete _control over this city before it was ours?"

Klaus growled lowly, "Elijah, what can Marcel do? We've spent two years bringing this town under our feet, and _we _hold the reins of power. Marcel is a figurehead; you know that as well as I do."

"And does he know that? Do you seriously think he is content to do nothing but smile while we pull all the strings?"

"He is content, because he has no choice otherwise," said Klaus with a dark smile, spinning on his heel as he strode off. Elijah sighed and caught up, and the two brothers stayed in silence as they wound through the dark streets of the Garden district, rounding the corner and finding the old iron gate to Lafayette Cemetery left open. Underneath the arch, two girls turned to face them, and Klaus frowned to see Rebekah and the wolf girl waiting.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked tersely, "is there something wrong in the bayou?" He looked at Hayley expectantly, and the girl rolled her eyes insolently.

"Does something always have to be wrong?" she asked.

"I positioned you as an ambassador to the werewolves in the bayou so that you might successfully keep me informed, so yes, when you show up, I expect things to be wrong."

The girl rolled her eyes again, and was about to respond before Rebekah cut her off. "Sod off Nik, there's no need to get testy. Why are you two here anyway?"

"We're meeting Marcel, if you must know. Why are you here?"

"To meet Marcel," replied Rebekah, "wait, he called you too? What's this about?"

"He said there was something here we needed to see, did he explain this to you?" Elijah was on high alert now, subtly listening for an ambush or an attack.

"He didn't say a word," said Rebekah with a frown, but their confusion was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. All four tensed and Klaus took a step into the street, Rebekah and Elijah flanking him. As they watched the corner, Marcel rounded it, an easy smile on his face as he quickly strode towards them. Davina was by his side, and Klaus was surprised to her see her here, the young witch rarely strayed too far from the Quarter where she was safe. Now she hugged her arms, the thin cotton of her dress not doing too much against the chill that had settled in the air, and she shot an apprehensive glance at Klaus.

"Why am I here?" she hissed at Marcel, who simply smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, as they stood in front of the Originals.

"What's wrong love, not happy to see us?" asked Klaus sardonically.

"Honestly? No," snapped Davina, lightening up somewhat as she saw Rebekah next to her brother. "Rebekah, do you know why we're here?"

"Not a clue," she said with a shrug, easing her defensive stance. "Marcel, what the bloody hell is this about?"

Marcel didn't explain himself, simply walking past the group and into the cemetery. "You need to follow me," he said as he stood under the iron gates, "there's something you all have to see." His voice was persistent but he made no move to elaborate.

Klaus sent a glance to his brother, their thoughts hanging in the air. Something was definitely happening. And while Klaus was not a fan of walking into traps, the fact remained that he and his siblings could not be killed, so he strode forward, intent on finding out what Marcel was going on about.

"Let's not stand around shall we?" he said jovially and waved them all forward. There was complete silence throughout the cemetery, and no one said a word. Marcel led the way, Davina close by his side, Klaus followed closely keeping an eye on his former protégé, while Elijah and Rebekah brought up the rear, the former keeping his eyes and ears out for any sign of an ambush. They wound through the small labyrinth of mausoleums and graves, finally coming to a stop in front of a large tomb. Marcel reached into his pocket and pulled out an intricate black key, which he used to open the marble door. It swung with a creak and Marcel stepped inside.

The others cast confused looks at each other but the loud scrape of stone brought their attention to the inside of the tomb, where Marcel was moving a giant slab of marble to reveal a stone staircase leading underground. He smiled to himself and looked up at the others, "We have to go down here."

"The hell we do," muttered Hayley, but he ignored her and looked at the Original Family.

"It's really, really important," he implored, and then started down the steps. Davina stuttered, caught between wanting to follow him and her apprehension, but the thought of being stuck up there with Klaus finally tipped the scales and she started down after Marcel. Klaus followed her quickly, ignoring Elijah's protests and within a second he was at the bottom of the stone staircase, which led quite deep underground, finally ending at the mouth of a cavern.

Marcel held a lighter and was walking around the walls, lighting the old torches until the entire space was flooded with light, illuminating the dusty wooden coffins on the ground. Davina and Klaus stood watching Marcel, but he still offered no explanation, simply waiting while the remaining three came down into the cavern, Rebekah with a grimace.

"What the bloody hell is this place?" she asked distastefully, swiping at a cobweb.

"This tomb belonged to the La Bouff family way back in the 19th century," explained Marcel. "Thing is, big ol' Charles La Bouff had a little too much fun with some girls who were definitely not his wife. But he was sentimental and had this place built underground for his illegitimate children. It was the family's greatest secret."

"That's a lovely history lesson, what does it have to do with us?" asked Elijah testily, having had far more than enough of whatever game Marcel was playing. Marcel was perfectly calm though, too calm. If he was indeed planning an attack, he would've betrayed himself somehow, Elijah was sure of it.

"You had to be brought here. It was very important that you were all here so that everything goes according to plan."

The words spurred everyone into action, in a flash Klaus had Marcel pinned up against a wall, his eyes flashing golden and fangs bared. "What game is this?!" he roared. "If this is some ploy to gain power you must be mad to think it'll work!"

"Are you in on this?" asked Rebekah, staring Davina down, her gaze sharp as steel. "After everything I've done to help you over the past two years, this is how you take my family's power?"

"No!" yelled the young witch, looking between Marcel and Rebekah, her fist clenching as she itched to fling Klaus far away from him. "I have no idea what he's doing, I don't know what's going on!"

Klaus growled again, a low and dangerous sound that set everyone's nerves on edge as they tensed for a fight that could arrive at any moment. "I'll ask you again," said Klaus in a low whisper. "What. Are. You. Doing?"

"It's not his fault."

The penny dropped, and the voice might as well have been a bomb. The tone was so soft and even that for one short moment Klaus thought he must have misheard, because there was no chance, not in the slightest that _she _would be here, that _she _would be involved, it was a complete impossibility-

"You can let go of him, Klaus. He doesn't know what he's doing."

Klaus sucked in a breath, his hand dropping from Marcel's throat. He quelled his shaking hands and masked the million emotions he was sure were playing out on his face and with a deep breath he turned to face the entrance to the cavern.

Standing at the bottom of the staircase, hands clasped neatly in front of her, was Caroline Forbes.

"Who the hell are you?" demanded Davina, turning between the Original siblings and Hayley who were staring at Caroline with a mixture of confusion, distaste and complete shock, and Marcel who simply stood against the wall, unmoving.

"Right, sorry, I'm Caroline!" Caroline gave a small half-wave to the witch. "I'm an old friend – we go _way _back," she added with a sly smile.

The air was too hot, the walls were too close and Klaus felt the seconds stretch on endlessly. A million scenarios flashed through his mind as to why _she _was here, she had no business -

(Didn't she? Did he dare hope, for the first time in years that _one day_ had arrived?)

"Caroline – " he said, calling her attention to him, but as he bored his gaze into her, she wouldn't meet his eyes. She was very, very nervous about something. He took a step forward and she straightened ever so slightly, still avoiding his gaze, but he was the _King _of this city and no threats could be made against him, not after everything he had gone through to get it.

"Caroline," he called again, a clear command for her attention. "What is going on here?"

He could see the muscles working in her throat as she gulped down a breath, her jaw tightened, and he clenched his own hands, feeling his nails dig into his palms as he did everything in his power to dispel the thought of him running his lips along the smooth column of her neck, and peppering kisses along that jawline. But those were dangerous thoughts for another time, and so he brought himself back to the present where the shock of seeing an old face was wearing off everybody else.

"What the hell is this?" screeched Rebekah, coming forward to stand by her brother's side. "What could _you _possibly have to do here, and what in God's name is wrong with Marcel?"

"You're working with her?" Davina asked Marcel, clearly hurt that she had been kept out of this little loop. Instead of answering her though, Marcel simply smiled.

"You had to be brought down here. It was very important."

"What are you talking about?"

"He doesn't know what he's doing," interjected Caroline, taking a deep breath as the attention was focused on her once more. She stared them all down, one by one, before finally speaking again. "He's been compelled."

"That's impossible," Davina spat back immediately.

"Vampires can't be compelled, except by an Original," said Elijah with narrowed eyes. "And I can assure you neither I nor my siblings have a hand in this, so I fail to see your reasoning."

"I spelled him myself," said Davina with a smug smile. "I placed a spell so that he would be protected from the Original family."

"Well – no you didn't," said Caroline, with a small, Mona Lisa smile.

"What the hell do mean-"

"You spelled him against Klaus," Caroline said, glancing at the hybrid again but quickly averting her eyes at the intensity of his gaze, "and against Rebekah and Elijah – but that was it, wasn't it? You didn't spell him against the _entire_ Original family."

"You didn't spell him against me."

Time slowed. Klaus stood rooted to his spot, going over in his mind the _hundreds _of different scenarios he had immediately conjured to mind when he laid eyes on Caroline, a hundred different ways to explain why she was here and what she wanted. But as footsteps reverberated off stone and a second intruder came down the staircase, Klaus realized that for the first time in a thousand years, he had been completely mistaken. Nothing could have prepared him for this. Nothing could have caused him to properly predict the appearance of the man who now stepped into the cavern, and took his place by Caroline side.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight of his younger brother.

"_Oh my god_, Kol!"

"Brother?! But – how-"

The light from the torches slanted across Kol's features, his brother's lips twisted into a familiar smirk as he stared down his family, obviously delighting in their confusion. He offered no explanation to Rebekah or Elijah, instead locking eyes with Klaus, who stood closest. "Long time brother," said Kol, his words heavy with amusement.

Klaus narrowed his eyes and looked between Kol and Caroline immediately on edge from the way they stood side by side. Granted, nothing about their stance indicated that they were _together, _but Klaus had stood side by side with enough comrades in war over the centuries, he recognized the sign of two people working together. "What the hell is this?" he asked, his voice a low hiss.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Marcel had pushed himself off the wall and was rubbing his head, glancing at Kol as if he were finally realizing what was going on. "Why did I – what the fuck did you do?!"

"Oh dear, it would seem the compulsion is wearing off," said Kol with a light shrug. "No matter, you got them all down here; I suppose that's all that was needed." He spoke with his usual levity, all smirks and snark and a complete air of nonchalance, as if the whole world were beneath his feet.

"What did we need to be down here for?!" screeched Davina, panicked, but before she could get an answer, the sounds of people moving around up above caught their attention, and judging by the way voices were echoing off marble, somebody had found the open entrance of the tomb.

"Right on schedule!" said Kol happily, turning towards Caroline. "Ready Sweets?"

Caroline took a deep breath and straightened up, her hand curling into tight fists by her side. "As ready as I'll ever be," she said flatly and in the next second had blurred away, up the stairs. Klaus almost unconsciously took half a step forward to follow her, but she was gone and suddenly his brother was directly in his way, Chesire grin firmly in place.

"Sorry brother, but Caroline's got this. Stay and chat! I'm sure you all have _a lot _of questions."

"What's the hell is happening?" asked Rebekah, her voice a rushed whisper. "Are you a ghost, or a hallucination, what the hell _are _you?!"

"I'm your brother, Bekah," said Kol, his glee a sharp contrast to his sister's distress. "Alive and in the flesh!"

"No," said Elijah firmly. "You _died,_ we buried you, how are you _here?_"

"Don't be so narrow-minded 'Lijah! Anything's possible these days." Kol waved off his brother as well and Klaus could swear he was starting to see red.

"Kol, I swear to all that is good and holy, if you don't explain yourself _right now-"_

But whatever threat had rested on the tip of his tongue was cut short by the cacophony of terrified screams coming just from above their heads, bouncing off the stone and echoing through the cavern, leaving them stunned.

"What in hell…" whispered Rebekah, but Kol interrupted her with a sharp clap of his hands.

"Relax, it's all fine, nothing to worry to worry about!" he said airily. "Let's catch up! Talk about what's been going on _here._" He looked towards Klaus, "King of New Orleans again, well done Nik. Although you had a bit of a rocky start…" he cast a glance towards Hayley, who, throughout all of this, had been standing towards the back of the cavern, pressed against the wall and avoiding notice. "I have to say, I was a bit disappointed to learn I was never going to become an uncle after all. But then that's what you get for blindly trusting witches I suppose. You can never tell when they're pulling the wool over your eyes." To his credit, Kol dropped the amusement from his tone and regarded his older brother seriously.

Klaus battled the surge of anger he felt whenever anybody brought up the deception of the witches that had led to the revelation his child had never existed in the first place. If nothing else, his ensuing anger motivated his victory against them, he took the city straight from their hands. "And how are you so well informed?" he asked his little brother darkly.

Kol laughed, "I watched it all of course! The Other Side is a boring place, but you lot provided quite the entertainment. What with Rebekah's various love affairs and Elijah trying so desperately to _redeem _you – it was quite the show."

"Enough of this Kol," said Elijah, coming forward. "Explain yourself right now, tell us how you came back."

"You know what – I don't think I will," said Kol gleefully. "I'm sure the story will come out, but for now, I think watching you all scramble to put the pieces together will be so much more entertaining."

The confusion was interrupted by more screams from up above and Kol frowned, before looking towards Marcel and Davina. "Right, time to get things done – Marcel if you would please? "

"What the fuck are you talking about?" spat the vampire but Kol simply rolled his eyes.

"Time for phase two," he said and like a switch had been flipped, Marcel's eyes glazed over and he straightened up, his motions robotic. He walked up to Kol, who reached into his jacket and pulled out a wooden stake, handing it over. Once Marcel had the piece of wood, he walked towards the edge of the room, near the staircase then turned and faced the group. In a quick motion, he had sunk the stake into his chest.

"_NO!" _screamed Davina raising her hands to cast a spell that would stop him, but nothing happened, and Marcel kept inching the stake further into his chest.

"You're powerful darling, but I know witches too, and a few happened to owe me a favour. Your magic is no good within the boundaries of this cavern."

"I'll remove the compulsion!"

"You can try – but you won't manage it!" said Kol with a grin. "You don't even know the extent of what I've compelled him to do, you make one move to attack me and he runs, and I guarantee you won't be able to find him in time and remove the compulsion before he's committed no shortage of horrors, to himself and others. Surely you don't want that on your hands?"

Davina sputtered and Klaus could see the young witch hyperventilating, trying to think of a way out of this, but Marcel still had a stake perilously close to his heart and made no move to fight off Kol's hold on him.

He screamed in agony and that was enough to set off Rebekah, "Enough of this!" she yelled, blurring over to pull the stake out herself, but Marcel took one step backwards, up onto the stone staircase and Rebekah was flung back before she could reach him.

"Sorry sister – I couldn't have you interfering either, and I knew you would. I knew you all were liable to ruin my plan and that just couldn't happen." Kol regarded his sister with a hard gaze. "I needed the key players out of the way, so here you are – never fear, it's only temporary."

The thud of footsteps cut off Rebekah's furious retort and soon Caroline came down the stairs, passing Marcel with a nervous glance and standing next to Kol again.

"_Caroline…" _Klaus could barely form a horrified whisper as he took in her appearance. There was barely an inch of her that hadn't been splattered with blood, her clothes were soaked with it, it covered her neck, her hands and she hugged her arms around her middle, not able to meet his eyes. Kol looked her over with a small frown, and shrugged out of his jacket, wordlessly handing it out to her. She didn't look at him but accepted it, and quickly covered herself up, hiding the worst of the carnage.

Klaus saw all of this happen within a few seconds but he was more than ready to tear his brother's throat out.

(Not again, _not again, _he was _not _going through another bloody love triangle with a brother, _again._)

Kol was still looking over Caroline critically. "Are the vampires-"

"I took care of them."

"All of-"

"_Kol. _I took care of them." Caroline's voice was as hard as steel and she stared at a spot on the cave wall. Her demeanor was apparently enough to convince Kol that she had succeeded at whatever she had to do, so he turned back to Davina who was staring at the blood on Carolne's hands in horror.

"What did you _do?" _she asked, terrified.

"Magic requires a bit of sacrifice, surely you know that?" said Kol mockingly.

"Wait –did you just _kill _people?" asked Hayley from the back, her lips curling in disgust. Caroline kept silent but Klaus was quick to notice the tightening of her jaw and her sharp breath.

"You're not very quick on the uptake are you?" asked Kol before turning back to the young witch. "Come on now pet, we don't have much time. I need your power, and I'm sure you'd like for Marcel here to be free of my control. So come with us, do us a quick favour and everything will work out."

His words were smooth, almost reassuring but Klaus had known his younger brother for long enough to hear the threat in his words. "Nothing is happening until you explain yourself," Klaus snarled, intent on grabbing his brother himself but both Kol and Caroline were quick to step back behind the barrier, and Klaus found himself trapped before the boundary. He sought Caroline's gaze again, but still she looked away, her features schooled into a perfect mask and Klaus rebelled against the ball of desperation growing in the pit of his stomach, wishing he knew what had happened to the girl full of light that he had known. Whatever had happened, here and now was not going to be where he got answers.

Marcel grunted in pain again and Davina cried out. "Stop it, _stop,_ I'll – I'll help you!"

Kol smiled in victory, and turned to Caroline who gave him a quick nod before turning to go back up the stairs. Before she did, she cast one quick look over her shoulders and her eyes met Klaus. He was furious and confused and she gulped quickly before breaking her gaze away and running as fast as she could. At the bottom of the staircase, Kol clapped Marcel on the shoulder, his voice lowering to the steady tone of compulsion.

"Go on mate, remove the stake, but remember your other instructions." He then turned back to his siblings, "As soon as everything's taken care of, the spell will lift and you'll all be free to go home. Take Marcel with you. Now darling, come along." He extended his hand to Davina and she walked forward resolutely, ignoring him and passing Marcel with a pained look. But Kol's warning glare was enough to force her on her way. Before Kol could follow, the voice of his eldest brother called him back.

"Kol, for God's sake, tell us what's happening, what do you need Davina for? We could help you!" Elijah's desperation did nothing to evoke his brother's sympathies, Kol's gaze hardened against the plea.

"Could you? I doubt that. Relax Elijah, everything's going to work out." With that comment, he strode away, up the stairs and nothing more could be heard from him, Caroline or Davina.

Klaus turned towards his siblings, feeling the shock wear off, and he could see that they could were recovering from their stupor.

"Kol's alive," muttered Rebekah, running a hand through her hair. "Bloody hell, Kol is _alive."_

"It would have taken an impossible amount of magic," said Elijah, the gears in his head turning as he put the pieces together. "And why was Caroline Forbes with him?"

"That _wench. _He doesn't trust his own family but he enlists _her _help?!" Rebekah was livid, as she spat out her words. Klaus didn't share his sister's derision but Caroline's presence was another layer to a mystery that he wasn't wholly sure he wasn't dreaming up. There was no way this could be happening; there had been no warning, no indication, _nothing_…

The siblings lapsed into silence again, none knowing what to say. As the minutes ticked by, a cold wind rushed through the cave and the flames of the torches roared high. It was the unmistakable sign of magic and Klaus rushed forward, the barrier had been dropped. All five ran to the top of the steps and out of the tomb where they found no sign of Kol or Caroline – but Davina was there.

The young witch sat on the grass next to a grave, looking exhausted and scared. She startled once the others came out of the tomb and stood up unsteadily, Rebekah running forward to help her. "He asked me to do a spell," she explained, her voice shaking. "I don't even know for what, he just handed me this piece of really old parchment – it looked like the page from a grimoire – and he asked me to perform the spell. And I did, but I don't even know what it was for! Nothing happened, I just felt all this power and then it was over – and he was really, really happy."

The siblings looked at each other, none able to come up with any sort of explanation as to what their brother had done. "What about the 'sacrifice' he was talking about?" asked Hayley, hesitantly standing to the side, looking over the burnt out candles that had been scattered on the ground.

Davina gulped and pointed towards the darkness of the cemetery, just as the vampires all became aware of the overwhelming stench of blood that perfumed the air. With horror, they all looked towards the ground in front of the graves where a dozen bodies littered the grass.

All vampires. And they all looked as if they had had their throats torn out.

"Oh my god…" said Rebekah, her hand covering her mouth.

"Call someone to clean this up," Klaus barked towards Hayley, turning on his heel as he gave his order. This night was one giant confusing mess that he had been nothing more than a pawn in, and that was no role for the King of New Orleans.

"Nik, where are you going?" asked Rebekah.

"Where do you think sister?" he asked harshly. "We need to go home."

* * *

Caroline twisted her daylight ring on her finger as she paced the polished wooden floor of the Originals' mansion in New Orleans. It was a beautiful home, and Kol had told her a few stories of the time he had spent there with his family back when they had all lived in the city. She tried to imagine all of them together and happy, but it wasn't the easiest visual to conjure up, considering their penchant for ruining each other's lives.

"Stop pacing Sweets! Have a drink, celebrate – today is a good day!" Kol lounged on a leather sofa, sipping bourbon and looking distinctly at ease whereas Caroline was all nerves.

"How did they take the news?" she asked, "How did they deal with the whole issue of how you came back?"

"Oh that – I didn't tell them."

"Wait, _what?!"_ Caroline cried, rounding on him. "How the hell could you not _tell _them, don't you think they should know what's going on?"

"Why?" asked Kol, downing his drink and slamming the glass tumbler down with a little more force than necessary. "Why would I tell them, they'd simply go into a panic and accomplish absolutely nothing. I've got everything under control. _We _have everything under control."

Caroline scoffed, feeling the exhaustion of the past few days, of the past year, catch up with her. "I don't think I'd call what we do 'keeping things under control' she said tiredly. "You need their help."

Kol mulled over her words before standing up abruptly. "Look, the story will come out in time, but I want to make sure I know where all the pieces are on the board before we spill the beans."

"So what happens until then? You just stay here like nothing's happened?"

"Perhaps I want some time to reacquaint myself with my family. Is that so hard to believe?"

Caroline was ready to scoff again, and she nearly did before something about the look in Kol's eyes stopped her. He wasn't laughing now, wasn't mocking her – he looked haunted. And he had every reason to be, she knew that, from the few things he had told her about the Other Side, it was not a pleasant experience. So she refrained from making light of his comment, knowing that even if he would probably dismiss her completely if she brought it up, there was a small part of him that did genuinely want to spend time with his siblings.

(Provided of course, that time didn't result with a dagger to the heart.)

"Besides, I'm sure you and my brother won't mind becoming reacquainted, and I definitely couldn't miss that."

Now Caroline did scoff, but before she could retort the front door of the mansion banged open and Kol turned to Caroline with a now-familiar smirk. "Showtime," he whispered.

The Originals were in the living room in a second, having sensed the intrusion in their home, Marcel, Davina and Hayley right behind them. With an easy grin, Kol strode up to Marcel, looking him straight in the eye. "I release you from my compulsion. You're completely free to do as you wish." As he stepped back, Marcel let out a breath and his shoulders sagged as if a weight had been lifted. He glared at the youngest Mikaelson brother, but Kol simply held his hands up in defense.

"Sorry mate, but you were just collateral. Nothing personal."

Marcel growled but Elijah laid a hand on his arm. "Perhaps you should go for now, Davina looks exhausted." The young witch did in fact look as if she had been through the ringer and so with a parting glare, Marcel scooped her up and darted them out of the manor.

Caroline stood resolutely by Kol's side, now locked in a tense stare-off with those remaining, Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah and Hayley. The heavy, uncomfortable silence was suffocating. The living room was spacious but as Caroline stood there, she felt the walls closing in; the urge to run became overwhelming. She could feel their suspicious gazes on her and forced herself to meet them, remaining as cool and collected as she could possibly manage. As she faced their scrutiny, Caroline could feel her confidence growing. _Screw it, _she thought. This was not the time to retreat back to the small-town cheerleader she had been when they last knew her, she had been through too much and done too much to ever go back. Let them try to take her down now – she could handle it.

Her gaze flitted to Hayley, and she kept her expression as neutral as possible. There was bile rising in her throat but she forced herself to remain calm, reminding herself that the fact that the wolf was a traitorous, neck-snapping bitch was the reason that her fingers itched to slap her, and that her anger had nothing to do with the whole 'devil-spawn' scenario. Nope. Not at all. She did, however, take note of the fact that Hayley seemed to cower slightly at the combined force of her and Kol's stares and subconsciously took a step closer to Elijah.

'_Interesting…'_

If Kol's raised eyebrow was anything to go by, he had noticed the same thing. Caroline turned her focus to Rebekah, but the youngest Original couldn't take her eyes of her newly resurrected brother, her eyes a mix of shock, anger, confusion and …relief? Rebekah valued her family, Caroline knew. Klaus may have been her favourite brother but Caroline suddenly remembered being trapped in her school libaray while Kol and Rebekah worked over Professor Shane, looking for answers on Silas, In their own weird way, Kol and Rebekah made a team. A destructive, terrifying team, but a team nonetheless. Suddenly, Rebekah's gaze turned towards Caroline and the younger vampire just managed to stop herself from taking an involuntary step back. Rebekah looked at her with pure venom and Caroline understood intrinsically that Rebekah resented her for knowing the truth about Kol's life and keeping it to herself.

'_Sorry Rebekah, but I made a promise.'_

The last person she had yet to look at was the last person she was ready to face but she couldn't help herself. Klaus was still and silent, but she liked to think that she had become somewhat adept at reading his gaze. A stranger would think he was calm, stoic even – but she knew better. He was confused and furious about it; Klaus _hated _not being in complete control. Kol's secrets were driving him crazy, and she _knew, _without a doubt, that Klaus considered one of those secrets to be _her. _He looked at her as if he couldn't believe his own eyes. More confusion, more anger, but also a glimpse of …hope? And as she held his gaze, Caroline felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. Despite everything, despite what they had both done, she still remembers the warm press of his lips against her cheek and the warmth of his arm curled through hers as he walked her through an empty field.

Oh God…she was happy to see him again.

(Out of the corner of her eye, she swore she could see Kol shoot her a quick smirk.)

"Well, this has been _quite_ the night!" said Kol suddenly, shattering the loaded silence. He rubbed his hands together almost gleefully and the three Originals standing across from them shifted so that they stood on the defensive.

Caroline suddenly felt very, very out of place, like she was intruding on something she shouldn't be. What was she even doing here? Truthfully, she supposed that after spending months with Kol, the part of her that still believed in happy endings wanted to see him happily reunited with his family. Well, she wasn't sure how happy they were, but they were definitely reunited. Now was the time for her to quickly leave, go back to her hotel room and make a decision about where she'd go in the morning.

"I think I'll take the West Wing rooms – they aren't being used, right?" asked Kol smugly, knowing full well that the entire wing was empty and perfect for his use. He could see Elijah torn between suspicion and exhaustion, and it was his eldest brother that finally conceded.

"You are free to…you can stay."

"Well of course I'm going to stay!" said Kol happily as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Where else would I go?" he asked, spreading his arms wide and walking forward. "I'm back from the dead, permanently, I've spent months chasing down all manner of demons – I think it's high time I spent time with my _family._" He stood in front of Klaus now and clapped his brother on the shoulder. "Don't look so shocked Nik! After all, I'm sure you'll appreciate the chance to get reacquainted with – Caroline? Caroline?"

They all realized simultaneously that while Kol had occupied their attention, Caroline had slipped out of the room. It was a measure of how far the young vampire had come, slipping away from four Originals was no mean feat.

"Damn" muttered Kol, frowning. He focused on his senses and smirked as he caught the sound of her heartbeat, not far from the front door. "Oi! Moneypenny!" he called out, flashing out of the room after her. A millisecond of deliberation later, Klaus followed, leaving Elijah to glance between Hayley and Rebekah and sigh.

"Go to bed. Hayley, you can stay in one of the guest bedrooms for the night," he ordered tiredly. "We'll deal with this in the morning."

As they dispersed inside, Kol caught up to Caroline who was halfway down the drive. He curled his hand around her elbow and yanked her around, his grip holding her firmly in place. "Where's the rush, Sweets?" he asked, but instead of teasing her, he sounded deadly serious.

Caroline wanted to squirm under his probing gaze but his grip tightened and she knew better than to try and escape. "It's time for me to go, Kol," she said, feeling so incredibly _tired. _"What else is there to do? There's nothing for me here."

"I still need your help!"

"You have your siblings now! Just tell them what's going on; they'll be able to do something about it!"

"You seem to have great faith in their abilities," said Kol, smirking. "I'm sure Nik must rank especially high in your esteem."

"I _don't _think about him," said Caroline through gritted teeth.

"I think we both know that's not true darling," said Kol drily, ignoring Caroline's eye roll.

"You've _got _to give up on that…" she muttered. "It's not like he still cares about – look, I can't stay, okay? I have to go-"

"Home?" asked Kol, his voice cutting. "Tell me Caroline, what home do you _possibly_ have to go back to?" He spat out the question, and Caroline flinched, willing herself to remain stoic though her eyes burned.

(But she had cried enough, and this was _not _the time.)

"I don't – I still – Kol, I can't stay!" Her voice verged on slightly desperate as she pleaded for him to see things her way. "Where would I even stay? Here?!" She shot a nervous glance at the mansion behind him. If she took up residence there, she doubted she'd last the night before Rebekah strangled her in her sleep.

Kol sighed dramatically and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small object – a silver key. He held it up in front of her face, his stern look melting into an easy grin. "Consider this a thank-you gift," he said, taking her right hand and pressing the key into her palm. "688 Royale Street. It's got a fantastic view of the streets of the Quarter, great balcony to watch the Mardis Gras parades. Two bedrooms, if your '_friends'_ ever visit."

Caroline curled her fingers around the key, feeling the teeth dig into her palm. The slight pain was a welcome indication that this was not, in fact, a dream. "You're giving me an apartment?" she asked incredulously.

Kol's grin widened. "While living with my family was a _joy,"_ he explained, sarcasm dripping off his words, "occasionally it suited to have a getaway. Of course, if I ever had _company _and need somewhere to-"

"Okay, STOP!" cried Caroline, lifting up her hands. "If – and that's a colossal _if_– if I stay, it probably better that I don't know about what went on in your….clubhouse."

"Well I'd call it more of a bachelor pad…but it's good to know you're staying ,Sweets," he finished with a wink.

She rolled her eyes, "I didn't say I was staying," she muttered, but kept her hand curled around the key, her mind racing. Kol has a point -where could she go? Who was out there? A part of her was irritated that she couldn't just strike out on her own, be independent, but she had to swallow her pride. If she was alone and started to dwell on the past…she couldn't do it. And maybe that made her weak, maybe she was a complete _coward, _but right now Caroline needed some semblance of friendship.

(Who would've thought Kol Mikaelson would ever be considered her _friend?_)

"Take a look at the place, let me know what you think tomorrow. Goodnight for now darling!" he drawled, spinning on his heel and striding back into the house. Caroline watched him go for a moment then thoughtfully considered the small key in her hand.

'_Well, it can't kill me…'_

She turned and hopped into her car, driving off towards the heart of the French Quarter.

Kol grinned to himself as he heard her drive off; he was now quite convinced she was staying in New Orleans for a while. The benefit to finding Caroline when he did was that she was the perfect picture of someone who was completely isolated from the world, forcing her to grab onto the offer of help, no matter where it came from. She would become a resident of the city and he would have a decent buffer against his brother. Speaking of which…

"Nik, are you going to hide in the shadows whenever Caroline's around? You're not going to win her over if she can't see you." It spoke to how well Kol knew his older brother that when he felt himself being lifted from the ground and shoved against the wall next to the front door, he was not the least bit surprised. Klaus had his hands wrapped around the lapels of Kol's jacket, his grip unrelenting and his eyes murderous.

"What are you playing at?" he demanded, furious that Kol remained so calm. "_How are you alive?_!"

Kol just chuckled, seemingly unperturbed by his brother's use of force. "Oh Nik, that's a story that will surely come out with time. But for now, why don't you ask me what you really want to know?" Kol's smirk taunted him. "Ask me about _Caroline."_

Klaus felt his temper rising and fought to keep himself in check. Caroline was indeed the question he wanted to ask, but the thought of _another _bloody fight with a brother over a girl caused bile to rise in his throat.

(Besides – Caroline was _his._)

"What is she to you?" Klaus demanded through gritted teeth. "A game? A toy? Someone for you to fuck and be done with? I swear to God Kol, she is _not _one of your whores-"

His enraged rant was cut off by Kol's laughter. Once he had composed himself, he looked at his older brother with something close to pity. "you really don't understand, do you? _I never touched her. _In fact, you should be _thanking _me."

"Thanking you?!" asked Klaus, his grip tightening.

"I brought her here, to your doorstep!" I convinced her to stay, right where you'll be able to seek her out – I practically served her to you on a silver platter, so yes, you should be _thanking me." _

Klaus let go of his brother and stepped back, stunned. "How – how did you even know about her and I-"

"The Other Side is a boring place, brother," said Kol darkly. "I watched you with her sometimes."

"And bringing her here…why?"

Kol considered the question as he started up the Grand staircase, turning a few steps up and facing his dumbfounded brother. "Consider her a gesture of good faith. A peace offering."

"A peace offering?"

"Well alright," conceded Kol, "it's quite a bit more complicated than that now. But at the start, that's what I intended."

Klaus walked up a few steps, stopping just before his brother. "Kol," he said, his voice serious, "what happened to you?"

The smirk dropped from the younger Mikaelson's face, and his eyes hardened. "It's a long story, Nik. Relax – it'll all come out eventually." Without another word, Kol bounded up the stairs and made his way to the empty wing. Klaus remained on the stairs, clutching the banister like a lifeline.

Kol was alive.

_Kol was alive. _

And one thing was clear: whatever was going on – this was only the beginning.

* * *

_**THE WOODS OUTSIDE MYSTIC FALLS  
MARCH 2014**_

"_Looks like you've got yourself into quite the mess," said Kol, looking way too smug for the situation. Normally Caroline would've slapped the smirk off his face but Kol was not Klaus, she didn't know how he would react – she didn't even know how he was alive. _

"_How – how is this even possible?" she asked, but he offered her no answer, instead looking at her contemplatively. _

"_I'll tell you what darling – you want answers and clearly need a helping hand. Come with me, and you'll get both."_

"_No way in fucking hell!" she cried, recoiling back. "Why, why would I go with you?"_

"_Alright then, run home," said Kol dismissively, but grinned again when he saw the anger fall from her face, only for her to look lost and scared. "You can't, can you? Judging by your current state and the fact that you were a second from pulling that pretty little ring off your finger just a moment ago, I'd say you'd do well to take up offers of help where you can find them." _

_Caroline was indignant again, but his words hit their mark. "What – what do you even need me for?" she asked him, apprehensively. "Is this – listen, I already dealt with your brother, so I definitely don't need another Original going on about how he 'fancies' me-"_

_Kol cut her off with a roar of laughter, he almost doubled over from the force of it. "Oh God, no. Do I look like Elijah to you? You're Nik's girl-"_

" _I am not 'his' girl-"_

"_Whatever you are, you're definitely not my type. But as long as you're here, I have a proposition for you." _

_Caroline took a deep breath and regarded him carefully. He hadn't killed her – and out of all her possible options, he might be the only one capable of helping her. _

_Well then. Looks like this wasn't the end after all._

_This was only the beginning._

_Can't be scared when it goes down  
__Got a problem, tell me now  
__Only thing that's on my mind  
__Is who's gonna run this town tonight..._

* * *

**So what's the verdict? Confused? This story is my way of bringing together my two biggest wishes for the TVD universe, that Klaroline will happen and that Kol will come back, and I'm really excited for what comes next. **

**Leave a review and let me know what you thought! Until next time, goodnight!**

**(Feel free to follow me on Tumblr at hummingbirds-and-champagne)**


	2. The Phoenix

**Happy Friday! How great was 5x11 last week?! It was so great it kept me blogging and not writing, but here's Chapter 2! I am beyond grateful for the reception this story has received, thank you so so much to all of you who reviewed and alerted, it really gave me the confidence to see this concept through (and it's great to see how many people love Kol!). **

**A quick note on canon: I had initially planned for this fic to be AU post 4x23 but after 5x11, I couldn't ignore that. So I've made some subtle changes to chapter 1 so that this fic now takes place sometime after 5x11 in TVD. **

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter! (And please forgive the undoubtedly large amount of typos.)**

**Disclaimer: If I owned it, Klaus would not be making ridiculous promises.**

* * *

_You are a brick tied to me that's dragging me down__  
__Strike a match and I'll burn you to the ground__  
__We are the Jack-o'-lanterns in July__  
__Setting fire to the sky__  
__Here, here comes this risin' tide so come on_

Light streamed in through the large windows, making the kitchen look bright and cheerful. The setting hardly matched the mood of its occupants though; two Original vampires, one werewolf, and one Hybrid all slowly crept in over the course of the morning until they all stood around the breakfast island, avoiding eye contact with each other and none daring to ask the question that lingered on everyone's minds.

'_Was last night a dream?'_

It was Hayley who finally broke the silence, her ignorance of the family's history keeping her from fully grasping the severity of the situation. "So, that was your brother last night? Kol?" She swiveled her head quizzically between the Original siblings but all she got was a quick nod from Rebekah. "He didn't die after all?"

"He died." Klaus' voice was sharp as he clenched and unclenched his fist on the marble countertop. "A hunter put a white oak stake through his heart; I watched his body burn myself." Klaus took in a breath through gritted teeth, forcing away the memory of watching his little brother's body in flames while he was powerless to help. For days he watched over Kol's corpse, cursing every deity that may or may not have existed, but he had been so _certain _that there was nothing more to be done. Kol had been dead, but now – now he didn't know what to believe.

"Maybe it's not real," said Rebekah, her voice uncharacteristically soft and nervous. "Maybe last night was a spell, or a trap, or-"

"Really Bekah, are you that disappointed to see me again?" Kol sauntered into the kitchen, a wide grin on his face as he strode past his family and made a beeline for the sleek coffee maker. As he rifled through the cupboards, his siblings openly gawked at him behind his back, once more finding themselves at a complete loss for words.

Kol set the coffee maker to brew then turned around and leant against the countertop, surveying his family. "I distinctly remember you all being much more talkative," he said mockingly. "Come on! No nagging lectures or dagger threats over breakfast? It's practically tradition!"

"Enough of your jokes, Kol," said Elijah, his voice dead serious. "Tell us what in hell is going on here."

Kol narrowed his eyes at his brother for a moment before relaxing and moving over to the large gleaming freezer. "You lot keep blood bags for emergencies, right?" he called over his shoulder, rifling through the open compartment.

"Are you drinking from blood bags now?" asked Rebekah incredulously, but as Kol pulled a bag out of the freezer he simply rolled his eyes at his sister and pulled out his phone from his pocket, tapping the screen a few times and lifting it to his ear, humming aimlessly to himself. Klaus shared a confused glance at his siblings, their own bewilderment plain on their face. Did Kol seriously intend to say nothing about how he came back to life?

Their silent debate was interrupted by Kol's cheerful voice, "Sweets!" Wake up, and come over to the mansion, I've got a cup of dark roast coffee spiked with B-positive with your name on it!" His quick endearment clued them all in as to who he was calling and Kol grinned as he listened to Caroline's response. Klaus could hear her disgruntled voice on the other end of the line, grumbling about 'beauty sleep', and 'not being able to sleep in for a year'. As Kol listened on, Klaus became aware of the amused smile on his brother's face and found himself thrown back into the grip of his own paranoia, wondering how Kol and Caroline had come to work together. The Caroline Forbes that he knew would never give Kol the time of day, so for her to willingly go off with him, to _help _him with whatever scheme his impulsive younger brother had no doubt dragged her into – it would have taken nothing short of an act of God.

Caroline must have given some sort of tacit agreement because Kol smirked triumphantly and ended his call with a cheerful "See you soon!" and grinned back at his siblings. "Caroline will be over shortly," he informed them, delighting in their discomfort, Klaus' most of all. "Why so sullen Nik, you should be happy!"

"Enough, Kol!" snapped Rebekah, tired of her brother's antics. "Why are you calling Caroline here? What does she have to do with anything?"

"Plenty, sister. Not that it's any of your business." Kol replied, his voice sharp. Rebekah stiffened at his response and her jaw tightened, saying nothing else but glaring daggers at her brother.

"Rebekah simply means that we should perhaps take some time as a family to acquaint ourselves with recent developments," said Elijah, as diplomatically as he could.

Kol rolled his eyes as his brother's attempt at pacification and narrowed in his scornful gaze on the werewolf who had managed to remain silent throughout this little episode. "If you're so hell bent on _family time, _perhaps you revaluate who you count as _family."_

Hayley sneered and was about to retort but Elijah had a thousand years to know how impulsive his younger brother could be. "Kol, you don't understand, the past few years have been… complicated. Hayley –"

"You don't have to tell me how _complicated _your lives have been, Elijah, I've had first row seats for all of it." Kol smirked then, but his eyes remained deadly serious. "Really brother, I would have thought you'd have learnt a thing or two from Tatia. A thousand years does not teach prudence, it would seem."

Silence descended on them as Elijah looked on in shock, both at the revelation that Kol had watched them so closely all these years, and had formed such strong opinions on the Other Side. Rebekah kept her silence, not wanting to hear what would surely be caustic remarks on her own failures in love, and Klaus could only imagine what opinions Kol had formed of his romantic life, or lack thereof. Yet, none of them could find the voice to banish Kol – partly because they knew the order would never stick, and partly out of the shock that still lingered. Kol being an annoying prat was _such_ a part of what he was that it solidified the fact that their brother was really, truly _alive. _

(Somehow, for now at least, it was easier to endure their brother's remarks when just last night they had thought they would never hear Kol speak again.)

"Is this a bad time?" The question pierced through the heavy tension, the hesitance in Caroline's voice giving away her anxiety. All faces swiveled to see the young blonde vampire standing in the archway to the kitchen, looking poised to run for the hills. Klaus felt his breath leave him, and for a brief moment Caroline met his eyes, but looked away just as quickly, licking her lips nervously. Klaus cursed that tiny, innocuous gesture, where _she_ was barely aware of her own actions, _he _was bombarded by the memory of what those lips tasted like, how sweet they tasted against his tongue, how she had run them over the planes of his chest years ago in the woods when he had last said goodbye to her.

"You got here quickly," commented Kol, ripping open the top of the bloodbag he was holding and mixing a little in with the fresh coffee in a mug. He held the concoction out to her and after another glance at the others, she flashed to Kol's side, taking the mug and sipping it.

"Serioulsy, how did you get here so fast?" asked Kol curiously, and Caroline gave a light shrug in response.

"Maybe your driving skills rubbed off on me," said Caroline drily, taking another sip. Klaus watched her carefully, ignoring the pang of anger and jealously at her casual allusion to her and Kol's time together. Instead, he focused on the slight grimace she swore as she sipped her drink – there was something _off _about her. He had spent enough time observing her to know when something was wrong and if the furrow in her brow and the downturn of her lips was anything to go by, then there was definitely something bothering her.

The kitchen had lapsed into silence again. Caroline and Kol and all their secrets kept a silent wall between them and the others, and Klaus itched to break it down, by any means necessary.

"What exactly is the point of this, Kol?" asked Rebekah irritated beyond belief.

"Thank you for the reminder sister – we have work to do," he informed Caroline, turning to her with a smirk.

"Work?" asked Caroline warily. She shot a glance between Kol, who had pulled out his phone, and the Originals who were watching them very carefully.

"Here you go, Sweets, have a look." Kol handed her his phone and as she read the screen, faced the rest of his family who was waiting expectantly.

"Well? Are you going to let us in on your little scheme?" asked Rebekah petulantly.

"Now why would I go and do a thing like that?" asked Kol, with a roll of his eyes.

Caroline looked up from the phone in her hand and eyed the Original siblings, still doing her best to keep her eyes away from Klaus, which did not escape the hybrid's notice. He fought the growl building in his chest, instead channeling his irritation onto his infuriating little brother.

"Kol, for God's sake, you are in _my _city, so tell us what the bloody hell you're up to!" he snarled. Kol simply raised an eyebrow and pushed up from the counter, coming to stand right in front of his brother.

"Oh Nik," he said mockingly, "When are you going to learn? I'm too used to your threats. I've got worse things to worry about."

"Kol, maybe you should tell him…" Caroline's suggestion fell on deaf ears however, as Kol simply smirked at his brother as he answered her.

"Not today, bigger fish to fry. Come along Moneypenney!" With that he flashed out of the room, leaving them all gaping after him.

Caroline stuttered as she found herself suddenly left alone with the Originals. One by one they turned back to face her and she immediately missed the buffer Kol provided. His phone was still clutched in her hand and she glanced down at the picture on the screen and back up at the hostile stare she was receiving from Rebekah, cursing under her breath. "Dammit Kol!" she muttered before taking a breath and flashing out of the room after him while she still had the chance.

"So is that it then? Are we just going to have to put up with this from now on, not getting a single answer out of either of them?" snarled Rebekah, slamming her hand against the countertop, denting it just a smidge.

"Well, unless you want to interrogate both of them, I don't see what we can do, exactly," said Elijah, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Kol won't crack but I can probably make Caroline talk," said Rebekah darkly, her musings interrupted by her brother's loud growl.

"You're not laying a hand on her Rebekah," said Klaus, "I'll figure this out one way or another." With that, he stalked out of the room, leaving his sister to roll her eyes.

"Of course he's still _infatuated _with her," she spat.

"You know what…I think I'm going to head back into the bayou and stay with the wolves for a while," said Hayley, looking between Elijah and Rebekah.

"That's probably for the best," said Elijah with a heavy sigh, glancing at the direction his brothers had gone and wondering how exactly his world had changed so quickly.

* * *

The sun shone brightly and the Louisiana air was warm as Kol sauntered down the street away from the mansion, whistling to himself. He grinned as he heard the telltale sounds of a certain blonde running to catch up with him, and not a moment later Caroline stood next to him, matching his stride.

"You forgot your phone," she said, handing it over to him.

He took the device and flicked through the news article he had shown to Caroline, telling the story of one of New Orleans' newest real estate entrepreneurs, nothing more than a business mogul to the humans of the city. (And to most of the supernatural as well, come to think of it.)

"By the way – Monneypenny? I'm not your secretary, Kol!" said Caroline irritated, but Kol just chuckled at her annoyance.

"Say what you like, I think it suits you." She punched his arm lightly in retaliation, but Kol just grinned at her.

"Alright, so what's up with that guy? What's so important that you just _had _to drag me out of bed?"

"Speaking of which, how's the apartment working out for you?" he asked, shooting her a smirk.

"It's actually pretty nice," said Caroline honestly, "it's cozy. I was surprised, I figured you for more of a 'dark castle which a dungeon' type."

"That's more Nik's taste, darling. I take it you'll be staying there then?"

"I will," said Caroline with a deep breath. "After all, where else am I going to go?" she added quietly. She felt Kol assessing her, and not wanting to deal with any concern right now, she perked herself back up. "Anyway, I'm probably going to have my hands full redecorating and fumigating and cleaning off that weird brownish stain on the ceiling which I _seriously _hope isn't dried blood, so can we please get back to the mystery guy? Why's he important?"

"Jack Carraway, on his way to becoming a Fortune 500 CEO, runs a _very _successful real estate company with buildings all over the world."

"And you're planning on going into business with him?" asked Caroline bewildered.

"He was on the list."

Caroline stopped dead in her tracks, grabbing Kol's arm to pull him back. "The list from New York?!" she asked, her voice hushed as if she were afraid someone was listening. "Is that why you wanted to come to New Orleans?"

"Well, I needed the little witch too; this is just two birds with one stone."

"And your family's here," said Caroline under her breath, but Kol caught her words and looked away, a small frown on his face.

"And them too," he agreed, but added nothing else. "So, Sweets, are you in or not?"

Caroline sighed. "Alright, what do I have to do?"

"Go in, have a chat, see if you can't poke around his office a bit and find anything _incriminating._"

"Why can't I just compel my way in there?"

"Because Mr. Carraway is a vampire, and I've got things to do with the witches of the Quarter today. Come on," he said, noting the reluctance on her face. "We've been doing this for _ages. _Surely Cecily Fairbanks will have no problem with this?"

Caroline rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the small smile on her face. "Well, I _did _keep all those fake IDs. Alright, give me a few hours. I'll call you tonight if I find anything." With those parting words, she turned and went back towards her car, leaving Kol to resume his whistling as he made his way down towards the heart of the French Quarter, where the witches resided.

As Kol sauntered off, Klaus watched his brother from a distance, debating on whether or not it would be smarter to follow him or Caroline. Granted, as soon as he had seen Caroline break off on her own he had itched to follow her, but the part of him that burned with the need to know the truth about Kol won out, and so he found himself stalking Kol as he walked through the city. The beautiful blonde wasn't far off his mind though; he let himself dwell on her odd behavior. Everything from her 'friendship' with Kol to her apparent distaste for the blood in her coffee worried him – but he needed to focus on his brother.

'_All good things to those who wait.'_

* * *

_**ON THE ROAD, NORTH CAROLINA  
MARCH 2014**_

"_You drive way too fast!" cried Caroline as Kol maneuvered the car along the freeway, gleefully swerving around anybody else on the road, ignoring the honks and yells from other drivers. "Speeding laws are at thing that exist you know!" _

"_Oh God, are you always going to be like this?" asked Kol with a sneer, pressing his foot down on the accelerator just a bit more, grinning when she shrieked. "Relax, darling, you're an immortal. You can't die."_

"_We can still get speeding tickets!"_

"_Compulsion is a thing that exists you know!" Kol mocked, and Caroline scoffed. _

"_Great, just great, I'm stuck with the world's first adrenaline junkie," she muttered under her breath, screeching when the car swerved violently and she had to brace herself against the window, snapping her neck around to see at least five cars frantically trying to get themselves back in their proper lanes. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" _

"_No one died, and that's more than I can say for the time I took up drag racing in Tokyo, so would you please stop screeching like a deranged harpy?" Kol ignored Caroline's less than flattering response and left the highway behind, moving onto one of the rural roads which boasted little except empty land and slightly in the distance, a lone diner. _

"_Feeling peckish, darling?" he asked her with a sly grin, leaving no room to guess as to what he was after. He was craving some nice warm blood, and if the slight pallor on Caroline's face was anything to go by, she could use some nourishment too. He hadn't seen her near a single drop of blood since she had cleaned herself up yesterday at the motel they stopped at, but she it was clear she would need blood sooner or later._

"_Kol – I don't think, this is the best idea-"_

_He sighed, having expected this response. As they came up to the diner he jerked the car to a stop, letting Caroline brace herself against the dashboard and waiting while she turned to him with another reprimand, only to stop when she saw the cold look in his eyes. _

"_Listen carefully, little vampire. I am not my brother, I am not infatuated with you, therefore I have no qualms about compelling you into submission, understand? Now, let's get a bite, shall we?" He smirked as she stuttered slightly, jumping out of the car and striding into the diner. There were only a handful of people present, and the young woman behind the counter perked up immediately upon seeing him._

_Kol grinned to himself, taking a seat in one of the booths along the wall, leaning back in his seat and waiting until the waitress came over with a menu and an eager smile. _

"_Hey there!" she chirped, "you're a new face. What brings you all the way out here?" _

"_Just passing through, sweetheart," he said smoothly, noting how she flushed when she heard his accent. Hunting had almost become too easy nowadays. _

"_So, is there anything I can get you?" she asked, batting her eyelashes and leaning over the table. _

"_Just two cokes, thanks." _

_The order didn't come from Kol and the waitress whirled around, her expression visibly souring as she saw the blonde now slipping into the booth opposite Kol, neatly folding her hands on the table, and looking back up at her. "We'll be fine with that for now." _

_Caroline's words were an obvious dismissal, and she didn't miss the sneer the waitress sent her as she marched away. She sighed to herself, wishing she could get some gratitude for just saving that girl's life, but at least she was alive. Kol was staring her down and she made herself meet his eyes, doing her best to appear unfazed by his earlier threat. _

"_It won't do much good you know," he said, crossing his arms. "I'm going to feed eventually; you won't be able to stop me."_

"_Can't I try?" Caroline asked, knowing how completely futile her words were. _

"_What is it with you?" Kol asked, leaning forward, his coldness melting into genuine confusion. "I found you drenched in blood, you refuse to talk about why, and now you don't want to be near a drop of the stuff, which is rather inconvenient considering your status as a vampire."_

"_I'm dealing with it," Caroline said through gritted teeth. _

"_Dealing with what exactly?" Kol pressed. But she avoided his gaze and remained silent. Kol rolled his eyes at her stubbornness, "Fine, deal with it yourself then."_

"_I shouldn't have done this," muttered Caroline, more to herself than to him. "What was I thinking, why would I ever think that you could possibly do anything to help, I need to go…" Her rambling was getting more frantic and grating on Kol's nerves more, so when the pretty waitress came back a moment later with two cokes, he considered her a godsend. _

"_Here you go," she said flatly, placing their drinks down on the table, noticeably deflated because of Caroline's presence. _

"_Thanks so much, sweetheart," said Kol, his voice dripping with charm and the young woman brightened up immediately, neither of them paying attention to the glare Caroline was giving him. _

"_Now pet, why don't you be good and stay quiet, alright?" Kol pupils dilated and the compulsion took hold instantly, her body relaxing and he reached for her wrist bringing it to his mouth. _

_The booth was tucked away in the corner but it was not nearly private enough for Caroline's taste and she hissed at Kol's audacity. "Are you freaking insane?" she said, looking furtively around the diner. _

"_Caroline, relax," said Kol, bringing the girl's wrist to his lips before she was suddenly ripped away from him. He snarled, fangs bared and ready to snap Caroline's neck before realizing that it hadn't been her who had interrupted his meal. _

_Standing around the booth now were the other occupants of the diner, no more than five, but all had red eyes and protruding fangs, ready for a quick fight. _

"_Well, well, looks like you've got a little gang here. That's adorable," drawled Kol, reclining against the fake leather seat, and grinning across the table to Caroline, who looked distinctly uncomfortable. Oddly enough, she didn't appear frightened of a fight – she kept taking deep breaths, her hands curled into fists on the tabletop, he could see her knuckles turning white. She turned away from the vampires, squeezing her eyes shut, but he couldn't dwell on her strange behavior because the vampires surrounding them were readying to take them out. _

"_This is our territory, buddy," said one of the vampires sternly. "No one feeds around here without our permission."_

_Kol laughed in his face, flashing to his feet. "Permission?! Did you hear that Caroline – they want us to ask permission!" Caroline didn't answer but Kol was having too much fun. He bared his own fangs against the group and shot out a hand to wrap around the nearest one's throat – but at the last second his grip faltered. He felt his chest compress and a sudden pain in his head became nearly blinding. The vampires grabbed him and threw him to the ground, and as his vision blurred he started to panic. _

'_They did say this would happen…' _

_Caroline's shrieks rang out somewhere from his left, a sharp crack rang out through the diner, the unmistakable sound of bone being shattered and Kol wondered just what they were doing to her. He felt a small twinge of displeasure at the thought of them tearing her apart, the stench of blood flowed through the air and he fought to regain his strength, battling against the fog his senses were in. All he could hear were screams, all he could smell was blood and he took several gasping breaths. The wave of weakness was ebbing, he could feel the clarity returning to him, just as quickly as it had left. He had been told of the possibility of this, but dammit he hadn't taken the warning seriously!_

_The second he felt his strength fully return, he flashed to his feet, expecting to be met with five very angry vampires and one ripped apart corpse – but what he got was a complete inversion. Five vampires lay on the floor, their necks completely ravaged, blood pouring from their bodies. The poor waitress hadn't been able to escape the carnage, she lay a few feet away. And standing in the middle of it all, was the little baby vampire who should not have been capable of any of this._

"_Caroline?!" Kol asked, honestly shocked. She whirled around to face him, her eyes darkened with bloodlust and she stared at him for a moment before flashing forward with a growl, pushing against him, fighting to take him down, her jaw snapping as she tried to sink her fangs into his neck. _

"_Caroline – Caroline!" yelled Kol, fighting to wrap his arms around her so that she would be unable to move and he managed it eventually, holding her in place, her back against his chest as she struggled like an animal, kicking and snarling. Eventually though, her breathing evened out and she relaxed, panting heavily. Kol hesitantly let go of her and he turned to face him, her features back to normal. _

"_Oh god – oh my god, oh my god – did I just – are they all dead because…"_

"_Oh yes," said Kol, his eyes narrowed. "Now darling, be honest – what's all this about?" _

_He remained frighteningly calm and Caroline actually appreciated that, one of them had to keep it together and she could feel her tenuous hold on her own sanity slipping. She took a deep breath, and made a decision on the spot. "It turns out –" she broke off, taking a deep breath. "It turns out, I'm a whole different kind of monster."_

"_Tell me everything."_

* * *

Caroline checked her appearance in the mirror on the elevator wall, satisfied that she was primped enough to fit right in with the upscale professional crowd. 'Cecily Fairbanks' was a young entrepreneur, looking to sink her daddy's money into some condos in Los Angeles, and Caroline allowed herself to enjoy the ruse. She had been a drama major, after all. The skyscraper in the middle of the city offered a beautiful view of the Crescent City and Caroline took it in through the glass window of the elevator. A part of her had wondered what made this city so enticing to Klaus that he was willing to go through so much trouble to rule it, but it was definitely an interesting place to be, _especially _if you were supernatural. And supernatural she was, even if she was currently pretending otherwise.

The elevator dinged and Caroline stepped out into a sleek reception area, all streamlined furniture and large windows. She could see no sign of the man she wanted to meet, but his receptionist looked up with a smile.

"Can I help you?" she asked and Caroline walked up with a bright smile.

"My name is Cecily Fairbanks and I have an appointment with Mr. Carraway. Let me into his office," she said evenly, compelling the young woman effortlessly. It worked like a charm and not a minute later Caroline found herself in the man's office, carefully looking around to see if there were any signs of certain extracurricular activities. Spying a black organizer on the man's desk, she darted forward and flipped through the book, finding nothing but mundane appointments. With an irritated huff, she was ready to throw it down, but something caught her eye – underneath the space for January 23, Carraway had simply drawn a symbol. She recognized it as a rune, something Kol had taught her, it was a like a backwards 'Z' tilted slightly to the right. Committing it to memory, she grinned. It wasn't a lot to go on, but it was enough for now.

The sound of the receptionist talking brought her back to the present, and she carefully placed the organizer back on the desk and sat down in one of the plush armchairs in front of the desk. The mahogany door swung open and Caroline plastered a smile on her face, rising and turning, her hand outstretched. "Mr. Carraway, my name is Cecily…" she trailed off, stunned as she looked at the man in front of her, who was decidedly _not _Jack Carraway.

"Cecily? Yesterday, I'm pretty sure it was Caroline."

"_Marcel." _Caroline dropped her pretense and curled her fists, but before she could attack, he had swung up his hand Caroline felt the telltale prick of a needle in her arm and vervain flood her system. She struggled to stay upright, but the toxin took over and she sunk to the ground, everything fading to black.

* * *

Kol strode through the Quarter, dawdling at the stalls of the witches. Normally, they would have jumped at the chance to peddle their wares, but the instant Kol neared them, they shrank back, some abandoning their tables all together, shooting furtive looks at each other and muttering protection spells against the handsome stranger who had the air of the devil around him. Kol noticed all of this but remain unperturbed, knowing that the magic that had resurrected him would likely cling for a long time before its aura faded completely.

As he strolled down Bourbon street, he became aware once again of a presence on his trail and he sighed to himself, turning and slipping into a deserted alleyway, walking right in, idly kicking a can out of his way. It clanged against a brick wall, the sound echoing, and he came to a stop, standing stock still, a smug smile on his face.

"Come on Nik! I know you're out there!" Kol was not disappointed, a moment later Klaus stood in front of him, seemingly having materialized out of nowhere. "And there he is! The King of New Orleans, fiercely protecting his kingdom against its newest threat – his own baby brother."

Klaus growled and flashed forward, but Kol anticipated his brother's move and darted out of the way. He didn't run though – this was_ way_ too much fun.

"_Enough, _Kol!" Klaus growled, every inch the Original Hybrid. Back from the dead or not, he would've been more than happy to sink his fangs into his brother and let him deal with the effects of hybrid venom. It didn't matter that Kol wouldn't die, it would _hurt, _and Klaus wanted nothing more than to take his brother, tame his boundless arrogance.

(And maybe, just maybe, a delirious Kol would be more open to telling the truth.)

"You're wasting your time with me brother," Kol called out, dodging another attack. "Why are you even bothering with me? You probably would've been better served following Caroline."

"He's right, you know."

Both Mikaelson brothers halted their dance around each other and spun to meet the intruder on their little spat. Marcel stood at the mouth of the alleyway, looking too casual for someone who had just interrupted a fight between two of the oldest creatures on the planet.

"Whatever it is, Marcel, it's going to have to wait," snarled Klaus, still watching his brother out of the corner of his eye.

"Actually, I think you're both going to be very interested in this," said Marcel with a cold smile. "It's about a certain pretty little blonde. Caroline, right? Only it was 'Cecily' when I picked her up this afternoon."

"What have you done," Kol asked, his voice a deadly whisper.

Marcel smirked. "You should both come to the church," he said before flashing off. The two brothers were left to look at each other for just a second before coming to a silent agreement and following Marcel.

* * *

Caroline lifted her head from the ground with a groan. She was lying on a wooden floor, her limbs heavy and head pounding like a jackhammer. The office, the symbol in the book, _Marcel, _it all rushed back to her and she gasped, trying to stand.

"It's no use." The voice belonged to the young witch, Davina, and Caroline managed to sit up to see her standing some ways away, a young man by her side. They were in a high ceilinged room, it reminded her of an attic.

"Whatever you're doing, it's probably not going to end well," said Caroline as she brought a hand against her aching head.

"We'll see about that," spat Davina. "You think you can just come into this city and start slaughtering? That's not how things work, not here."

"Could've fooled me," said Caroline and Davina's eyes narrowed.

"You won't be able to do much," she said with a sneer. "I've cast a spell to mimic the feeling of starvation – you're too weak to fight back, and Josh here," she gestured to the young man, "is strong enough to hold you."

Josh shot a smile at Davina as the witch marched away then looked back at Caroline warily. "Don't think you'll be stronger than me just because you're older," he said, his voice a little shaky but obviously making an effort to sound intimidating.

"You should get out, Josh," said Caroline as calmly as she could but she could feel her veins on fire, the telltale signs of bloodlust coming through, her head and gums ached, and her senses were heightening, ready to tear, to _rip, _to _kill._ "Josh, _seriously. Get. Out." _

Josh just laughed nervously. "Not a chance."

Caroline clenched her eyes shut and did her best to stay in control. But she could feel herself slipping, and it wouldn't be long now – there was no way this was going to end well.

Klaus and Kol strode into the old church where so much business of the supernatural was conducted, the place Davina had lived when she was still in hiding from the other witches. Klaus quickly scanned the large hall, noting that Marcel had at least two of his old lackeys spread out while he himself stood at the end of the aisle, waiting for them with a wide smile.

"Took you guys long enough!" he said, spreading his arms, as if he was welcoming them to a party.

"Marcel, where is she?" asked Klaus, barely refraining from snarling out his question. "She is not to be harmed, do you hear me?! You are not to touch a _single _hair on her head."

"Klaus, do you realize what your saying?" asked Marcel incredulously. "She came in here with _him,"_ he gestured towards Kol, "and she killed a dozen vampires. She killed in _our _kingdom, she deserves death!"

"She will get no such thing," said Klaus in a low whisper.

"What the hell are you on?" yelled Marcel, his calm façade slipping completely. "You're supposed to be the fucking _king!" _

"I AM KING!" Klaus roared. "And I'm giving you a direct order, _tell me where she is!" _

"She upstairs!" Davina was coming down the stairs, her arms outstretched, ready to take him down if necessary. "I don't care what magic I have to do, she deserves to pay!"

"So sorry pet, but that won't be happening anytime soon," said Kol with a sneer. "Tell me…how exactly are you keeping her captive?"

Davina couldn't help but gloat, "I cast a spell," she said smugly. "It makes her feel like she's _starving, _and she's locked in, she's too weak to do anything to anybody now."

Klaus snarled, but Kol simply relaxed his tense pose, looking Davina over with a light smile. "And who exactly is watching over her?" he asked curiously.

"A vampire," said Davina, her confidence wavering in the face of Kol's nonchalance. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

To the surprise of everyone assembled, Kol threw his head back and laughed heartily. "Oh this is good, this is _too _good," he said, nearly doubling over. "God, this is going to be _so _entertaining!"

Klaus gaped at his brother, the others looked to each other in confusion. Kol eventually stopped his laughter and looked them over pityingly. "Let me understand this – you cast a spell to mimic starvation, and then locked her in a room with a vampire? God, you really are idiots, aren't you? Relax Nik," he said, looking over at his brother, "Caroline's going to be just fine. Now, your friend, on the other hand…" he trailed off with a grin and silence ensued for just a moment before a strangled scream came from upstairs.

Two figures, almost intertwined, stumbled down the stairs, and it quickly became apparent that it was Caroline struggling with another vampire, the one who was keeping an eye on her. Only, she wasn't trying to escape from him – _he _was trying to escape from _her. _ Caroline had her fangs sunk into his neck and she drank greedily before ripping away, the throat of the young vampire torn out and his dead body falling to the floor.

"_JOSH!" _ screamed Davina and she rushed forward, sobbing.

Caroline stumbled in her spot, her vampiric features still out in full force. The other vampires charged her but it was no use, she was strong enough to throw them off and was about a second from ripping into them too before a yell stopped her.

"_CAROLINE!" _Kol's voice was sharp and commanding and it managed to break her out of her stupor for just a moment, long enough to look around and let the panic set in. Her terrified gaze found his and she could feel herself reverting back, the pungent smell of blood was too overwhelming, Davina's spell had been too good, and she knew there was no way she could stop.

"Dawson's" she whispered quickly and in the next second Kol had flashed towards her, taking her head in his hands and snapping it in one fluid motion. He caught her body as she fell over and quickly pulled her back from an incensed Davina and Marcel. The witch was too mired in grief to do much of anything and Marcel was pulling her away, but not before shooting one hateful glare at the Mikaelson brothers.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" yelled Klaus, eyeing Caroline's prone form in his brother's arms. He wasn't sure what part of that scenario incensed him the most.

"Relax, Nik," said Kol, but his tone was grim for the first time all day. "Look – you don't have to rip my head off, just take her home, alright?"

"What was that? How did she just do that?!" asked Klaus as he took Caroline from his brother, carefully cradling her against his chest.

"You can ask her that yourself," said Kol as he walked away from the two, heading to take care of Marcel's friends who were regaining consciousness.

Klaus took one look at the girl in his arms before coming to a conclusion. This was one story he definitely needed to hear from her.

* * *

For the second time that day, Caroline felt the pounding in her head, her neck ached and her body was weighed down in fatigue. She reached up a hand to rub her neck, recognizing the sign of a neck-snapping. _Damn. _This was going to be a bitch to explain. "K-Kol?" she called out, sensing someone else was in the apartment. No doubt the Original was making sure she wasn't about to go into a panic attack, though she hadn't had one in months.

"No such luck, sweetheart."

(Now that definitely wasn't Kol.)

Caroline jolted up, almost immediately regretting the decision as her still-sore neck cracked in the process. Across from the sofa on which she lay, Klaus sat in a dusty armchair, his hands gripping the armrests, his face disconcertingly blank. Angry Klaus she could deal with, but a Klaus who showed no emotion at all was a whole different type of terror.

"_Klaus." _His nearness was quickly stealing her former resolve to be calm around him. "Is Kol here?" she asked with a quick glance around the living room.

"It's just us," Klaus replied stonily.

(Just them. _Just them. _It hadn't been 'just them' since that day in the woods years ago, the memories of which were suddenly flooding her senses.)

"Okay," said Caroline shakily. The air was heavy with awkward tension. Caroline did her damned best to look verywhere but right at Klaus, though she could feel his eyes boring into her unwaveringly. "So – thank you for bringing me back here, Klaus," she said, trying to stay calm and relaxed. "I'll be fine, so if you want to go –"

"What happened to you, Caroline?"

Caroline flinched, ever so slightly. Klaus never moved, simply kept his gaze on her and his voice dangerously low. "Klaus, really, I'm fine –"

"You _are not _fine!" he hissed, finally letting some of his fury slip through.

"I know it looks bad –"

"_Looks bad?! _Caroline, you _tore _through a dozen vampires last night, you ripped through one today and nearly killed two more –"

"Klaus, _stop," _Caroline said through gritted teeth, standing up from the sofa and clenching her fists, eyes tightly shut against the barrage of emotions she felt at the reminder of her deeds. "Just…stop."

"The hell I will," Klaus growled, standing to match her stance. "Was this my brother's doing? Did he teach you how to do this, how to rip through your enemies, just so he could craft you into some sort of weapon against me –"

"Oh my god, NO!" yelled Caroline, her eyes snapping open so that she could glare right back at him, her hands settling on her hips. "Why do you just automatically assume _everything _is some giant conspiracy against you?"

Klaus took two steps forward until he stood directly in front of her, his eyes blazing. He had the height advantage, so that he could stare her down but Caroline met his stare fearlessly.

"Explain it to me then," Klaus demanded in a low whisper. Having her so close was a jarring reminder of the last time had had her so close and he practically ached to reach out and wrap his arms around her waist but he kept himself in check, mindful of all the secrets she was keeping from him. He wanted answers.

(He tries so hard not to dwell on how much he wanted _her._)

Caroline's mind was at war; on one hand she held onto the truth fiercely, not trusting that telling him wouldn't backfire somehow. Then again, the weight of her (not so little) secret was already straining, and she wanted _so badly _to tell Klaus – wanted him to understand. Still…

"Klaus, you don't' want to get involved, trust me, I'm a lost cause."

"But _why?"_ he asked, "The last time I saw you, you were a bastion of self-control, you were on a strict blood bag diet and now you're tearing out _vampires' _throats –" He broke off, noticing the pained look on her face. She didn't want this, he realized. Whatever had happened, she wasn't happy with her current state.

Caroline took a step back, running a hand through her blonde curls tiredly. Coming to a decision, she sat back down, leaning forward and bracing her hands on her knees. "Alright, take a seat."

Klaus complied with her order and Caroline took a deep breath. "Klaus, how much do you know about the Augustine Society?"

* * *

_**THE DINER IN NORTH CAROLINA  
MARCH 2014**_

"_How long did they have you?"_

"_Five weeks. Long enough." _

"_Jesus Christ..." Kol ran a hand over his face. He and Caroline were seated once more in the corner booth, ignoring the carnage that littered the floor. "So – is your bloodlust heightened then?"_

_Caroline nodded. "Mostly, they screwed with my system so that I only really crave vampire blood. I can drink human blood but it doesn't satisfy me, and the cravings just end up being worse."_

_Kol exhaled loudly, leaning back in his seat. "That's one hell of a story, darling," he said, his voice tinged with a newfound respect for the baby vampire in front of him. "And I suppose when I found you yesterday, something had happened…"_

"_Long story short, it was bad," said Caroline tersely, not willing to divulge the full details just yet. She didn't want to think about it, that was why she had been willing to leave with Kol. Anything to get away. _

"_Well, we can work with this!" said Kol cheerfully, and Caroline looked at him, bewildered. _

"'_Work with this?'" she asked incredulously. "Seriously?" _

"_Darling, this works out perfectly for us. Am I correct in assuming that you do not want to lose control and become a blood lusting monster every time a group of vampires surrounds you?" Caroline nodded and he pressed on. "So here's what I propose – you help me with a few things I need to take care of, and in return, I'll make sure to hold you back when you don't want to rip out the throats of everybody in the near vicinity."_

_Caroline considered his offer for a moment. "Kol – you still haven't told me what exactly you're doing. How did you come back, what are you doing, why do you need me?"_

"_To answer your first two questions, I'll explain on the way. As for needing you…well, I thought you might come in handy. Lo and behold, I was correct! Now what do you say?"_

_Caroline wasn't sure how much she appreciated Kol's nonchalance, but a small part of her was so glad that somebody wasn't treating her like a dangerous freak. She couldn't go back and she didn't know how to go forward – so there was only one thing to do. "Alright. I'm in. But we should work something out, like when you should jump in and hold me back." Absentmindedly she fiddled with the menu on the table, with the large 'Dawson's Diner' printed on the top. "Dawson's," she said suddenly looking up at Kol. "It'll be like a codeword – I say 'Dawson's' and you hold me back." For the first time since Caroline had managed to get away from the cold prison at Whitmore, she felt like she had some control over her life, and she latched onto that feeling. "Deal?" she asked, sticking her hand out. _

_Kol grinned at her and nodded resolutely. "You have a deal," and he shook her hand._

* * *

"So…that's the story," said Caroline nervously, playing with her fingers. Klaus had remained silent for the duration of her story, and he looked at her now, his gaze a mix of concern and fear. But he wasn't scared _of _her, she knew that much. He was scared _for _her.

"Caroline…when all of this happened, why didn't you come here?" he asked her, his voice pained. "Sweetheart, I would've helped you, you have to know that." He stood up from the chair and took a seat next to her on the sofa. His close proximity both set her nerves on edge and relaxed her, and she took a breath, getting used to having him so close.

"I didn't know – I wasn't sure how you would take seeing me again," she admitted. "Plus, Tyler had told me about Hayley…" she dropped off, not wanting to remind him of that little issue.

Klaus fought down the growl that immediately formed whenever he thought about the child he once thought he would have, and focused instead on the woman in front of him. If he had known , the last time he saw her, that she would go through so much he never would've have made a promise to stay away. He never should've made that promise in the first place.

"Caroline…we're friends aren't we?" he asked, hesitantly.

She looked up at him, shocked, but eventually nodded slightly. "I think so," she said quietly.

"Then let me help you break the conditioning."

"Are you serious?" she asked him, sitting up straighter.

"Completely. I know my brother used you as a weapon –"

"It was nothing I didn't agree to," Caroline interjected, and Klaus frowned.

"Regardless, I'm going to help you work through this." He reached forward and took her hand running his thumb over her knuckles. Caroline took in a sharp breath, and met his eyes, a small smile forming on her face.

"Alright," she said softly. "If you think you can…you can help me. But listen – no going after Kol, okay? If it wasn't for him, I don't know what I would've done this past year."

Klaus frowned at that, but said nothing more and the two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence, as he continued holding her hand. Caroline had no idea what Klaus planned to do, but for tonight, she relished in the memory of what it felt like to be safe.

_Hey young blood doesn't it feel like our time is running out  
I'm gonna change you like a remix  
Then I'll raise you like a phoenix  
Wearin' our vintage misery  
No, I think it looked a little better on me  
I'm gonna change you like a remix  
Then I'll raise you like a phoenix_

* * *

**And that's chapter 2! Please do let me know what you think! Lot's of things are coming up, and I'd love to hear your predictions. **

**Chapter title and song lyrics are from "The Phoenix" by Fall Out Boy**

**Thank you for reading! Feel free to follow me on tumblr at hummingbirds-and-champagne. Until next time!**


	3. Secrets

**Authors Note: This chapter is brought to you by my professors who cancelled their classes today, thus giving me time to write. Because who needs an education when you can write about your OTP all day? **

**Thank you so, so much to all of those who reviewed and alerted (apologies for not replying to reviews yet, but I'll be getting right on that!) I am so massively appreciative of all the feedback. You're all amazing.**

**This fic now has a cover, courtesy of Nicole (nfinneman on Tumblr), she is absolutely amazing and you should all go check out her blog. Right now. Anyway, happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: If I wrote this show, I'd be nicer to the shippers. Just saying.**

* * *

_'Til all my sleeves are stained red  
From all the truth that I've said  
Come by it honestly I swear  
Thought you saw me wink, no  
I've been on the brink, so_

_**ON THE ROAD, TENNESSEE  
APRIL 2014**_

_Caroline jolted awake, her hands immediately going to her sore neck. She groaned slowly, trying to make sense of her surroundings, but everything was a blurry haze. The ceiling was low, she could feel her feet pressing against a barrier and whatever she was lying on was – rocking? The distinct smell of leather finally clued her in as she realized she was stretched across the backseat of a moving car that was probably moving way over the speed limit. _

_(But it's been two weeks and she knows complaining will do no good.)_

"_Morning Darling!" chirped Kol from the front seat, eyeing the young vampire in the rearview mirror. "And how are we feeling today?"_

"_Like shit," Caroline replied, pulling herself up into a sitting position. "And you're way too perky, and that's saying something coming from me."_

_Kol just grinned wider and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel idly. "I'm in a good mood, Caroline. You had quite a night yesterday."_

_Caroline's brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of what he meant. Last night was a bit of a blur, but she tried to piece it together – they had stopped at a bar, she had been wondering how difficult it would be to get some fresh vampire blood to sate her growing thirst, when all of a sudden a loud crash had alerted the entire bar to the fight between one of the regulars and the smug stranger with a foreign accent to had been trying to get his hands up a girl's skirt. And of course they had found a place crawling with vampires and of course the young lady in question was the girlfriend of one of the older vamps because of course Kol just had to do whatever he wanted and fuck the consequences. _

_There was something missing though – something about that scenario that wasn't quite clicking together…_

"_You lost your strength again!" cried Caroline as she remembered why it had to be her suddenly running around, letting her lethal Augustine instincts take over. "In the middle of that fight, you totally collapsed – what the hell happened there?"_

_Kol's good humour vanished, and his long fingers clenched around the steering wheel, his eyes as cold as ice as she found Caroline's stare in the mirror. "Nothing you need to trouble yourself with Darling," he said stonily. _

"_The hell it isn't!" Caroline shot back immediately. "You wanted to drag me along this little trip – which you still haven't really explained, by the way – and you just want me to ignore the fact that this was the second time you just…lost it? You're a freaking Original Vampire, you should've been able to take out the entire bar by yourself without breaking a sweat!" _

_Kol shut his eyes against the incessant rant, taking deep breaths as he looked up and met her expectant gaze. "I don't particularly enjoy dwelling on weaknesses," he said, trying to banish the thought of all the times he had been so fucking weak over the course of his long life, all of which had ended with a dagger to his heart, courtesy of his older brother, or, more recently, a white oak stake thanks to the Gilbert siblings. The wheel cracked just a little under his grip and Kol reminded himself not to completely let blind rage consume him. He wasn't Niklaus. He could keep his composure. _

"_Okay, look, I know it's probably really…personal? And I mean, I get that you don't want to talk about it, but don't you think you should at least let me in a little since I'm helping you? I don't even know what I'm helping you for! Can't you – I don't know – open up?"_

_Kol's grip didn't lessen nor did the cold look completely leave his eyes, but for a split second Caroline could make out humor on his face. _

"_Is this what my brother's done? He's come to you to talk about his feelings?" Caroline winced, ever so slightly, but ignored his comment and pressed on. _

"_I'm just saying, it wouldn't kill you to let me in on what the hell we're doing."_

_Kol took a deep breath and stared resolutely out the windshield. The bright sky was being darkened by heavy gray clouds, threatening a storm and he knew that they needed to work fast if they were going to find their destination. Caroline's expectations hung in the air, the small space of the car doing nothing to alleviate her palatable tension. _

"_I'll tell you soon, darling," said Kol, hoping his charm worked to stall her curiosity. "Let's just see where the day takes us first." _

_Caroline sat back in the leather seat, glad that she wasn't up next to him for once. It allowed her to curl in on herself and stare out at the forming storm, pondering, not for the first time, the rationality of her decision. It had been a snap decision. Completely spur of the moment. She barely knew Kol, besides being Klaus' little brother and the guy who broke Matt's hand and nearly killed Jeremy. He was unpredictable, psychotic, dangerous in a way his siblings never were. At least with Klaus or Rebekah, she knew what to expect. But Kol – Kol was a complete mystery to her. _

_She curled up tighter and leant against the window. For the first time on this little trip, she began to feel scared._

* * *

"Oh my god, these are _incredible!_" Caroline barely held back a moan as she savoured the small sugar covered doughnut in her mouth, her eyes closed in bliss. She opened them to find Klaus regarding her with an amused grin, and she blushed a little at her overzealous reaction.

(Though it _was _delicious.)

"Enjoying yourself love?" asked Klaus with a knowing smirk, causing Caroline to roll her eyes. If nothing else, she was at least glad Klaus looked less tense than he had been when he left her at her apartment last night, after learning of her Augustine status. Truth be told, his easy manner when he called her up inviting her to breakfast was a little disconcerting, and she kept waiting for him to snap.

"Don't laugh at me!" said Caroline, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face as she popped another one of the doughnuts into her mouth. "Remind me what these are called?"

"Beignets, and if I had known you'd love them this much I would've simply laid a trail of them from Mystic Falls to here."

"Ha-ha," said Caroline drily, leaning back in her seat to observe the streets around them. The small café they sat outside was apparently a popular joint and she watched busy people on their way to work, wide-eyed tourists elbowing each other out of the way and tshe relaxed into the easy atmosphere. Most of the Quarter's vampires were inside, and she let herself take a deep breath, seeing for the first time why Klaus had left that voicemail for her once upon a time, promising art and food and culture.

Klaus eyed her carefully across the small table, glad that she was relaxing but still feeling a barrage of questions building up. "Tell me love – are you feeling better?" he asked cautiously.

Caroline sighed a little knowing that it was time for her to come back to reality. "I'm feeling better," she reassured him with a nod. "At least I won't have the urge to rip anyone apart for a while." She gave a nervous laugh, but couldn't help feeling uneasy at the memory of the vampire she had killed last night. Jay? No – Josh. His name was Josh and she didn't know a thing about him but he could've just been a young vampire trying to survive. He could've been just like _her. _

Klaus kept his lips pressed in a hard line, fighting the urge to snap at somebody. He wasn't angry at her – but he was angry. Angry that he couldn't have helped her, angry that she hadn't come to him. But it would do no good to start that argument now. Instead, he vowed to make good on his promise to help her. "I was wondering, love, if you wouldn't mind telling me _exactly _how this happened to you?"

Caroline fidgeted under his probing gaze, trying to decide how she could possibly condense the whole story. "It's a bit of a blur," she said, that much true at least. "We found out about this group at Whitmore. They – _experimented_ – on vampires, trying to see how they worked, what they were made of. One guy had Damon for five years back in the fifties."

Klaus raised his eyebrows at the mention of the older Salvatore but kept silent and Caroline went on.

"Anyway, they found out about me and Elena being vampires and they actually managed to grab Elena – but we saved her and we _thought _we were done with them. But obviously…" she trailed off gesturing towards herself with a wan smile. "I don't remember much of what happened when they had me. They kept me drugged on vervain, I barely knew what they were injecting me with. And then one day, somebody was pouring blood down my throat and the restraints were snapped and I just ran as fast as I could. They hadn't taken my ring, thank god, so I just bolted and went to –" She broke off suddenly, her hand gripping the edge of the table. The pain threatened to overwhelm her and she didn't want it, she didn't want _any _of it, She closed her eyes and fought it down, deciding that some things were meant to remain secret. At least for now.

"I – uh – I ran into Kol. And from there – well, you know."

Klaus watched her carefully through narrowed eyes. "No, I don't know, Caroline. You have no idea who saved you?"

Caroline shook her head, nervously twisting her daylight ring around on her finger. "Not a clue," she said quietly.

"And now you can only drink vampire blood? They managed to alter your entire physiology?"

Caroline took a deep breath rubbing her arms, suddenly feeling cold. "It's weird – I can still drink human blood and survive off it. But – look, it's like when you're really, _really _hungry, but there's no real food around so you eat something small like a mint or a cracker just to take away the hunger pains. And it works for a little while but then the cravings come back and it's ten times worse. That's what it's like being me."

His teeth grated together, but Klaus fought to keep himself in check, lest he rip apart the nearest human out of sheer frustration. "I'm sorry, Caroline," he managed to say, but she waved him off, clearly feigning her nonchalance for his sake.

"I'm – okay, I'm not _good, _but I suppose this past year could've been worse," she said gently, her finger twisting her ring again. "For what it's worth, Kol played a big part. I mean if he hadn't been around to pull me out and get me under control-"

"By repeatedly snapping your neck!" spat Klaus.

"I asked him to do what was necessary," said Caroline firmly. "And he did. He kept me from doing worse."

Klaus scoffed but kept his incensed opinions to himself. The way he saw it, his little brother had fashioned Caroline into his personal weapon, though why he should even need her was beyond him. Regardless, Kol had indulged and encouraged her bloodlust, despite the fact that it was clearly tearing her apart. "He was using you, Caroline," said Klaus darkly.

"_No he wasn't_," insisted Caroline. They stared each other down for a moment before the tension was broken by the loud scrape of metal against cement and they both looked up to see a grinning Kol dragging a chair over to their table and plopping down, nicking a beignet off the tray and popping it in his mouth.

"Morning brother! Miss Moneypenny," he said cheerfully, nodding at both of them.

"I'm not your secretary," Caroline muttered under her breath, but Kol simply grinned wider and stole another beignet.

"My ears were burning all the way down the street where I could just make out my temperamental brother ready to rip someone's heart out. Good to know you're feeling back in form Nik," he said, clapping his brother on the shoulder.

Klaus growled under his breath but Kol ignored him, turning to the blonde who was watching the brothers with a small smile. "Alright Sweets, time to play catch-up. Did you manage to find anything yesterday?"

Caroline nodded, "Before Marcel grabbed me-" she paused upon seeing their expressions darken a touch. "Before he grabbed me, I got into Carraway's office and found his organizer. Most of it was ordinary, but about two months ago, he had a symbol drawn down. It was one of the ones you showed me, here –" she grabbed her purse and rooted around in it untl she pulled out a pen, then grabbed a napkin off the beignet tray, quickly scribbling down the symbol she had seen yesterday, a backwards 'z' tilted to the right.

She slid the napkin over to Kol and the younger Mikaelson grinned, looking up at her, his eyes holding a familiar gleam of excitement. "Oh this – this is good. This is _fantastic."_

Caroline's smile mirrored his. After all that time tracking down leads and searching the country, it was the little leads like this that made it all worth it.

"Mind explaining this all of this to me," asked Klaus in irritation. He had recognized the rune on the napkin immediately, though admittedly it wasn't something that he had seen for centuries now. "_Eihwaz – _what could you possibly be doing that involves ancient runes?"

Kol smirked to himself, barely hearing his brother's question, simply piecing together a bigger picture. "I think it's time I see Mr. Carraway myself. Coming Sweets?"

Caroline nodded, but she couldn't help but feel a little wary after what had happened yesterday. Her nervousness did not go unnoticed by Klaus, who was quickly becoming tired of Kol's schemes. "I'm coming with you," he said sharply, leaving no room for question. He didn't know what Kol was up to, but he was going to be made privy to it, regardless of what he had to do to force himself into his brother's plans.

"Well then, let's be on our way, shall we?" asked Kol, standing up. Klaus joined him, a little surprised by how easily Kol gave in to that, and Caroline remained in her seat, shocked.

"Wait, seriously? Just like that? You're not going to be all secretive as usual?"

"Well, he was probably going to follow us anyway," said Kol, grinning as he took Caroline's hand and pulled her up from her seat, dragging her along to his car while his brother followed.

"Besides, you never know when you might need backup."

* * *

_Caroline drummed her fingers on her thigh, feeling restless. She had moved up to the front passenger seat again, and was side-eyeing Kol who was steadfastly ignoring her. The silence in the car was suffocating. The only sound was the sharp staccato of the rain as it hammered down, the storm having finally hit them in full force. As they drove down the highway, Caroline snuck a glance at the Original and wondered, not for the first time, if he had somehow managed to compel her into this. Granted, the amount of vervain in her system courtesy of the good doctor at Whitmore should have prevented that…but Kol could've drained her and compelled her, and how would she know? _

_She didn't want to believe that. Not just because she entertained the notion that Kol had some sort of moral code that prevented him from doing something like that, but because she had become so accustomed to being sure that she was in complete control of her decisions. And to be fair, she couldn't spot any gaps in her memory after she had escaped Whitmore, she could account for every single little moment – even the one moment she wanted to forget most of all. _

_(Maybe she could get Kol to compel that memory out of her eventually. But no – she deserved to live with the pain.)_

_Fighting the tears that were suddenly building up, Caroline looked to her hands and twisted her daylight ring around her finger. Suddenly her hands were engulfed by a larger one and long fingers pried her hands apart so that she wasn't obsessively toying with the little trinket anymore. She snapped her head up to see Kol still looking out the windshield, but his expression was grim._

"_You don't want to do that," he said evenly. "You're better off alive than dead." _

_Caroline's eyes widened at the resolve in his voice. _

_(Was this a thing with the Mikaelsons? Helping out slightly-suicidal vampires after traumatic events?)_

"_Uh…thank you," she said carefully, for lack of a better phrase. "I didn't think you'd care – I mean I guess I appreciate it." _

_Kol's lips twisted up into a small smirk and he finally turned to look at her. "Believe me, it's not that I'm a huge believer in the sanctity of life," he said. "But you see, between the two of us, I've actually been to the Other Side, and let me assure you darling, it's not pleasant."_

_Caroline shivered at his mention of the plane where all dead supernatural beings resided. From what she had gathered in her limited experience with ghosts, it was a lonely, lonely place, where all you could do was watch the world, unable to be heard or seen by anyone you loved. It sounded like it could drive a person mad. _

"_Are you ever going to tell me how you came back?" she asked quietly, now staring out the windshield herself. They were slowly creeping up on civilization, scattered farmhouses signaled the small town up ahead._

"_To tell you the truth darling, I'm a bit hesitant to see what you'll do with the truth." _

"_Seriously? What's that supposed to mean?" asked Caroline, suddenly angry. _

_Kol chuckled at her ire. "Relax, Caroline. The truth can be a burden – just trust me." _

_Caroline opened her mouth to retort, but Kol swerved the car violently and Caroline realized that he had turned them into the town they had been approaching, the car winding slowly through the streets of a suburb. The rain was relentless and there wasn't a soul to be seen anywhere. After a few moments, Kol brought the car to a halt outside a small house, looking every bit the normal American household as she could've imagined. It was small, with flowered curtains at the windows and a white picket fence, the sort of house that wouldn't have been out of place in Mystic Falls at all. _

"_You have friends here?" asked Caroline, confused. _

"_In a matter of speaking," said Kol before hopping out of the car and zipping to the covered porch, Caroline joining him a moment later. He strode over to one of the square windows besides the front door and peered in. "Fuck. Looks like we're on our own here." _

_Caroline took a peek in the window herself, seeing the front hallway of the house dark to even her superior sight. She concentrated, and listened, hearing not a single sign of life anywhere in the house. She could just make out the spot in front of the door and saw a pile of unopened mail that had been pushed through the slot and left, piling up over at least a couple of days. "It's been abandoned," she realized._

_Kol nodded. "Well, can't let a little thing like that stop us can we?" With a smirk, he grabbed the doorknob and forced the door open as if it were made of paper. _

"_Kol! Are you nuts?! People might see you!" Caroline shot furtive glances around the street, looking for a nosy neighbor wondering why two teenagers were breaking and entering in the middle of a thunderstorm. _

"_They won't notice a thing," said Kol tersely, running his fingers over the doorframe. Etched into the wood was a small symbol, like a backwards 'z'. _

"_What's that mean?" she asked, as Kol stepped over the threshold and into the darkened house. _

"_It's a rune. Haven't been used in a few centuries though I suspect we're going to see that a lot. I'll teach you about them one of these days."_

_Caroline left the doorframe behind as she followed Kol into the house, shivering a little at the massive creepy factor and Kol's sudden bout of anger. A crack of lightening cast a bright light through the living room windows and she fought the urge to jump. _

"_Goddammit!" Kol swore, slamming his hand against the wall, plaster crumbling under the dent he left. _

"_What the hell?!" asked Caroline, stunned by his violent mood swing. _

"_I needed to get information from the person who lived here," Kol explained darkly. "Only now they've gone and thrown a little wrench into my plans, and I'm more than a little irritated." He growled and kicked the coffee table in the living room, sending it flying into the wall, a lamp toppling over and another clap of lightening casting a bright light over his enraged features. _

"_Okay, stop, just stop!" cried Caroline before he destroyed the entire house. "You're acting like a lunatic, just tell me what the fuck is going on!"_

_Kol snarled and rushed forward and before Caroline knew what had happened Kol had her pinned against the wall by her throat, his fangs bared. Thankfully, she had some strength to sto p him from suffocating her completely and she managed to wrap her hands around his wrist, pulling it back just a fraction of an inch, enough for her to speak. _

"_Kol, I swear to God if you don't tell me what the hell is going on I will run and never look back!" She managed to choke out her words, but they had little effect. _

"_Oh you will, will you?" snarled Kol. "Tell me darling – how far do you think you'll make it before your own self-loathing costs you your life?" _

_Caroline stared him down resolutely, determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear. But damn it all if she wasn't terrified. This was Kol – and he wouldn't hesitate to kill if she didn't give him a good reason to calm down. _

"_You helped me," Caroline said slowly. "You helped me when I was going to do the worst and now I'm going to help you. But I can't help you if I don't know what's going on." _

_Kol cocked his head to the side, assessing her carefully. Slowly, he lessened his grip and Caroline slumped against the wall, straightening herself up. Neither said anything for a moment, another flash of lightening illuminating the room. _

"_I suppose you're right," Kol said suddenly. He took a sharp breath and came to a decision. "Alright darling. Guess you've earned your answers."_

* * *

The ride up to Jack Carraway's office was a lot tenser than it had been the day before. Caroline stood between Kol and Klaus, watching the city get smaller around them as the car climbed higher and higher. "New Orleans is beautiful," she said quietly and turned to see a satisfied smile on Klaus' face.

"It is my kingdom after all," he said and she rolled her eyes, smiling a little.

"You have no idea what he had to go through to get that _kingdom, _Sweets," said Kol from behind them and she looked around to find him watching his brother with a smirk. "I was there for everything – honestly brother, why you didn't just kill Marcel the first chance you got was beyond me."

"My methods are hardly any of your concern, _brother, _considering you were firmly on the Other Side – care to share how that was reversed, by the way?"

"Hmm…nope!" said Kol, popping the 'p' to further irritate his brother and Caroline quickly stepped between them before any hearts got ripped out.

"Play nice boys," she said warningly, her sentence punctuated by the loud '_ding'_ of the elevator. "We've got things to do, remember?" she said, mostly towards Kol. He grinned in return and strode out of the elevator suddenly stopping dead in his tracks.

"What in hell is this?!" he snarled out. Caroline and Klaus stepped out to join him, the latter wondering what the reaction was about while the former whipped her head around the office stunned.

"Where – where is everything?!" asked Caroline walking through the now empty space. The entire upscale office had been completely stripped bare, the desks were gone, the walls were bare, even the lighting fixtures had been taken out. Bright sunlight streamed in through the floor to ceiling windows, illuminating how empty the reception area was. Caroline zipped over to the large mahogany doors leading towards the inner office but, as expected, there was nothing to be seen. The shelves of books, the Monet reprint, it was all gone.

"He ran," said Kol grimly, coming into the office, examining the barren space. "Goddammit, how do they always know we're coming?! He never even met you yesterday!"

Kol paced like a wild caged animal while Caroline ran her hand through her hair, looking around the stripped office space and eventually meeting Klaus' gaze. He stood at the office's entrance, looking between his enraged brother and her, and he took a few steps inside, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Would anyone mind telling me what's going on?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"We were – we needed to find – she looked between him and Kol, wondering how much she could reveal without spilling all of the story. Kol was too frustrated to even look towards them, so Caroline sighed and took a step towards Klaus.

"Look, it's really complicated, but the guy who had an office here – who I was looking for yesterday – we needed to find him. We needed to-"

"It's a long story, Nik," interrupted Kol who had ceased his pacing, and now came over to stand next to Caroline. "We don't have time for that right now – I have to get back, take another look at the list." He pushed past Klaus to leave but his brother caught his arm, forcing him in place.

"Tell me who this man is, Kol!" Klaus demanded harshly. "Why is he running, why do you need to find him?! And what's this about a _list?!"_

Kol looked towards Caroline who, for once, shared Klaus' confusion. "You were ready to tear things apart a second ago," she pointed out, "what are you doing now?"

"We don't have any time to waste, Sweets," said Kol, his anger fading away into eagerness. "Don't you see? This," he gestured around the bare offices, "is a sign of desperation. They're panicking. Which means we're getting _closer." _

Caroline's eyes widened and Klaus turned to her questioningly. Kol managed to shake off his brother, but before he zipped off he gave Caroline a meaningful look between her and Klaus and then winked. The message was clear- _'Calm him down, would you?" _

Kol made his escape and then it was just Klaus and Caroline left in the room, with nothing to do but stare at the bare bones of the office and each other.

"This can't go on, Caroline," Klaus said quietly, but his rage was obvious. "I can't let him run around my city like this."

Caroline gulped knowing Klaus' predilection for violence when it came to his siblings. "Look, let's just…let's just go back to my apartment? We can talk about stuff there."

After a moment, Klaus nodded in agreement, and together, the two left, making their way back to the Quarter.

* * *

"_This house belongs – or at least it did – to a witch." Kol and Caroline wandered through the small house, which to Caroline's eyes was perfectly ordinary. There weren't even any herbs in the kitchen cupboard, or grimoires in the bedroom closet, so Caroline wondered just how Kol was so sure a witch lived here. _

"_Are you sure about the witch part?" she asked skeptically as she came downstairs from searching the bedrooms for any sign of where the owners had gone. Kol was back in the living room, pacing the wooden floor. _

"_There was definitely a witch living here. I know it – I know witches quite well," he said with a smirk, leaving no guesses as to how _well_ he knew witches. "She was an acquaintance of mine."_

"_You had acquaintances?" asked Caroline before she could help herself. _

_Kol looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. "I know my brother kept me in a box for the last century, but I didn't spend all my time in that town of yours once I awoke." _

_Caroline had to give him that, Kol was gone more than he was around. It was weird to think of him running around making friends with witches though, but she supposed weirder things were possible. "So…this witch-acquaintance of yours is missing?" _

"_Missing…or she fled for some reason. I need to find her secret room."_

"_Secret room? Seriously?"_

"_She's a witch darling, there's always a secret room." He stopped suddenly, staring at the wooden floorboards and the small rug that had been underneath the coffee table before Kol had kicked it away. In a flash, he had ripped the rug away to reveal a small brass ring in the floor – it was a trapdoor. Kol yanked it up and Caroline walked over to see a small staircase leading into a basement. _

"_Ladies first?" asked Kol, gesturing her forward. Caroline hung back though, shaking her head vehemently. _

"_No way, you're an Original, you can go first," she said adamantly. _

_Chuckling at her expense, Kol started down the staircase, Caroline close on his heels. Once at the bottom he felt for a switch on the wall and found it, flicking on a small ceiling lamp which illuminated just the place he had been looking for. It was a cramped basement, all sorts of witchy odds and ends strewn around, candles, feathers, and herbs. Grimoires were piled up on a shelf, and they both stepped in further, trying to make sense of the mess. _

"_Whoa," said Caroline quietly, as Kol rifled through the parchements. _

"_I was brought back by witches," said Kol suddenly and Caroline realized with some shock that he was actually giving her some answers. "This coven…they brought me back. It took an incredible amount of magic. More than should've been used."_

"_Bonnie brought back Jeremy using magic," said Caroline, remembering the steep price of resurrection. _

"_Hmm. The prat kills me and he gets to come back to life. Where's the justice in that?" Kol asked drily but Caroline was not impressed._

_ "You're back too…"_

"_But not properly. Where your dear friend Bonnie was more than willing to die for her dear love, none of the witches were that attached to me. My new life…there are some drawbacks. My strength fails, sometimes, when the spell weakens."_

"_Like the times when you collapsed during those fights," said Caroline softly, finally understanding. "But, it's okay, right? I mean, most of the time you're just as strong as you were."_

_Kol closed his eyes briefly, turning away and picking up a grimoire from the shelf, flipping through it idly. "It's going to get worse. That's what they told me. You see – they tried to put me on a little deadline."_

"_They brought you back to do something for them…" said Caroline as she put the pieces together. "They needed you to do something they couldn't - and that's why they left you weak? So that you'd have to do what they wanted if you wanted to be resurrected permanently?"_

"_Oh, very good darling! I can see why my brother likes you, you're much more than a pretty face!" said Kol, genuinely impressed. _

"_Kol…" Caroline admonished quietly. Kol sighed and went on. _

"_That was the gist of it, yes. But I wasn't about to be beholden to blackmail to some upstart witches who have no idea what they're doing. But I suspect there is a way I could come back without their help – I would just need a really, really powerful witch. Don't suppose you know any?" _

_Caroline shrugged helplessly. "Bonnie's all out of her powers. And most of the other witches I've met don't like me very much. But then – are you going to die again?" _

"_Eventually, but I've got things to do before then. And that's when you come in – you see why you're so useful?" _

_Caroline nodded, moving around the small lair, kicking some candles around on the ground. "I get it – I'm your backup. But you still haven't told me why you were brought back! What was so important that a bunch of witches would resurrect you for?" _

_Kol didn't answer, but stood up straighter suddenly, a broad smile on his face. From between the pages of the grimoires, he pulled out a folded map, and unfurled it. Caroline went over to stand next to him, noting the small red crosses all over the United States. _

"_This is where she was planning on going? Are we going to track her down now?" _

"_No, I don't think this was where she was going – I think this is where the rest of them are."_

"_The rest of them?" _

_Kol folded the map back up and looked at Caroline. "That coven that brought me back – they were just a fraction of the larger story. There are more, Caroline, loads more. They all have one mission, and you and I are going to stop them. It looks like my old friend was a part of them, and I had hoped I could ask her a few questions without any suspicions of deceit, but it looks like that's not going to be possible. So, we track down the rest." _

_With an excited grin, Kol grabbed her hand and started pulling her back up the staircase, and towards the house's front door. He threw open the door, the rain still pattering down and the two vampires dashed for the car, jumping in before they could get soaked. _

"_Okay, let's just take a moment, before we do anything," said Caroline quickly but Kol was revving the engine, ready to tear down the road. "You never answered my question – why did they bring you back?" _

_Kol looked over at her and she was shocked to see the excitement from a moment ago had given way to something close to pity. "I'll tell you soon Caroline – but here's the thing: you're going to hate it. You're really, really going to hate it." _

_Caroline didn't have any time to think about what Kol meant by that, before he floored the accelerator and they were on their way. The small town was left behind quickly, but Caroline found herself anticipating the next one, waiting for the next development. She had no idea what Kol was dragging her into – but there was small part of her that liked it._

* * *

"I don't suppose you want a drink?" asked Caroline as she laid her purse on a chair and walked over to the liquor cabinet, pulling out a bottle of scotch that Kol had been kind enough to leave behind when he had lived here.

"I want answers," said Klaus resolutely, taking a seat on the sofa.

"Better have the drink anyway," said Caroline under her breath as she poured a generous amount in two glasses and went over to hand one to him.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" asked Klaus darkly, taking a swig of the scotch.

Caroline took a deep breath and Klaus sensed he was about to be disappointed. "Caroline, I don't know what my brother's forcing you into-"

"Stop that, okay? He's not forcing me into _anything._" Caroline hoped he believed her but he still looked suspicious as always. She sighed and tried to think of the words that would convince him.

"I promised him I'd keep things under wraps until he thought it was safe to tell you. Please understand that."

Klaus didn't understand, he didn't want to understand because it meant his thoughts going in a very unpleasant direction when he thought about just what in hell Kol and Caroline had been doing for a year together. His brother made no secret of his womanizing ways, and while he wanted to think Caroline would never give in to his advances, the fact was Kol had helped her when she was vulnerable. It would have been easy for his brother to extend his comfort just enough to get what he wanted…

"Are you so willing to show him loyalty?" he asked darkly.

"Yeah. I am." Caroline barely hesitated with her answer and Klaus wondered if that was proof enough. Caroline frowned as she watched his mood take a turn for the worse and she tried to assuage his temper.

"Look, if you're worried about Kol and me being like…well, being like _you _and me, that's not an issue. I mean, come on," she said with a grin, "do I look like a Petrova doppelganger to you?"

Klaus couldn't help the smile that lifted his lips and Caroline took a small breath of relief. "You don't have to be jealous of Kol, I mean, the entire time he and I were working together, he kept bringing up – and I kept remembering- " she broke off, blushing slightly, not sure how to finish that sentence.

(How exactly does one say,_ 'I remember you tearing my clothes off in the middle of the woods before we had sex for hours?'_ Didn't exactly roll off the tongue.)

"Anyway," she said, gulping the down the sudden lump in her throat at how dark Klaus' eyes had gotten as his gaze roved over her shamelessly. "The point is, it's Kol's call."

"The thing I don't understand, sweetheart, is why you would ever agree to help my crazy brother in the first place?"

Caroline sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Look, I know it doesn't make much sense. But here's the thing – after what happened with the Augustine Society I was ready to just – it was bad." She idly twisted her daylight ring on her finger, and Klaus looked at the little hand movement, with a frown on his face. "When your brother found me, he gave me something to _do. _ I had a_ purpose. _And you know what? I think that's what kept me going. Otherwise, I would've just been the world's freakiest cannibal vampire, and to tell you the truth I probably wouldn't have made it."

Klaus remained silent after her little speech. "That's quite the testimonial, love," he said quietly and Caroline smiled softly to herself.

"It's all true." She was surprised when Klaus stood suddenly, setting his drink down and flashing her his most charming smile. It was meant to put her at ease, but it didn't work, she knew him too well. This was him trying to keep her calm while he went off to do whatever hell it was Klaus did when he was angry and suspicious, and unfortunately, there was a long list of possibilities, none of them pleasant.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"I think I'll make my way home – I have something I needed to talk to Elijah about, just some kingdom business." He walked over to stand in front of her and smiled, quickly leaning in and pecking her on the cheek. "It was lovely spending time with you, however it went." With those words, he turned and left, leaving a stunned Caroline standing in the middle of her living room, lifting her hand to touch the spot on her cheek where he had kissed her. She hadn't realized how much she could be affected by such an innocent little kiss, but her skin burned, and she actually felt her legs shake just a tad.

(Oh _God. _She had really, _really _missed him.)

While Caroline was left shaken, Klaus flashed through the French Quarter with purpose, knowing how to avoid human eyes, right until he reached his mansion. Kol was back, pattering around the wing he had taken, Rebekah and Elijah were both off somewhere. Klaus let himself dwell on the feeling of Caroline's soft skin, his spirits rising significantly at the memory of the beautiful blonde. One way or another, he'd help her, and once he had, he would show her the life she could lead at his side, Queen of his kingdom.

With those thoughts, he had a spring in his step as he bounded up the grand staircase up towards his study. He hummed idly as he sought out a well hidden safe and he smiled to himself as he pulled out a familiar silver dagger.

'_Sorry Kol, but enough is enough. Time to go back in a box.'_

* * *

Later that night, a small group of vampires assembled in Lafayette cemetery. They watched in silence as a coffin was lowered into the ground, the only sound being the soft sobs of the young witch in their midst. Davina stood close to Marcel, the older vampire had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, rubbing them soothingly.

"Josh was a good man," he said to the assembled. "He was a loyal and true friend. We won't forget him." His words were short but to the point and after a few more moments of mourning, the vampires dispersed. Davina and Marcel stayed behind, the young girl brushing away the tears on her cheeks.

"He was going to go to Tulane," she said quietly. "He didn't deserve this. This is all because of that evil blonde _bitch." _She pushed away from Marcel and turned to look at him. "I _hate _her Marcel, her and that brother of Klaus. He won't even punish them for this!"

"I know, I know," said Marcel soothingly, holding Davina by the shoulders. "Listen, don't worry, okay? One way or another, we're going to get revenge."

_Tell me what you want to hear  
Something that will light those ears  
Sick of all the insincere  
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away_

* * *

**And that's a wrap! This fic is just one giant masterclass in "How can two people do a thing without saying out loud what that thing is?" But never fear, the second half of Kol's story is coming soon. Please do leave a review, let me know what you think, or what you predict will happen next! **

**Chapter**** title and song lyrics are from 'Secrets' by OneRepublic**

**Until next time!**


	4. Runs in the Family

**Author's Note: This chapter has been a long time coming, mostly because I kept underestimating how easy it would be to write the interactions between all the different members of the Originals family, and I'll let you be the judge of how it turned out. Thank you so, so much to all of you who have been reading and alerting and reviewing, I so appreciate every little piece of feedback, and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!**

**Disclaimer: Of course it's not mine.**

* * *

_If wellness is this, what in hell's name is sickness?  
But business is business!  
And business  
Runs in the family, we tend to bruise easily  
Bad in the blood, I'm telling you 'cause  
I just want you to know me  
Know me and my family  
We're wonderful folks but  
Don't get too close to me_

_**IN A MOTEL, FRANKLIN, KENTUCKY  
MARCH, 2014**_

"_Alright darling, don't make a sound, understand?" The young girl nodded, her eyes glazed over in compulsion as Kol smirked. Dipping his head down, he sank his fangs into her neck and drank his fill, feeling an instant rush of strength, reveling in the feeling. His unfortunate victim remained completely silent, her strength fading ever so slowly, and Kol relished in the natural high of fresh blood. _

"_What the hell?!" _

_There was a flash of blonde and Kol found himself being pulled away from his meal and Caroline standing between them. She eyed him with a frown and took a deep shuddering breath, getting control of herself before biting into her wrist, and turning to force it down the girl's throat. _

"_You're going to go back to your room, and sleep this off. You're not going to remember anything." Again the girl nodded and Caroline was left to turn on Kol with a slight growl. "Seriously?! You had to feed on some poor innocent girl right out in the hallway where anyone could see you?" With a scoff, he moved to shove past him so that she could get to their room, but was stopped by a hand wrapped around her wrist, the grip as tight as iron._

_Kol stared her down, his eyes cool and impassive. There wasn't a hint of a rage, but he simply smiled down at her darkly. "You can't save everyone, darling," he said lowly, and Caroline stiffened for a moment, before wrenching her arm away and storming past him into the motel room, Kol following, completely nonplussed by her anger. _

"_Christ, you could probably use a good meal yourself," he said smugly, noticing how she was taking deep breaths and clenching her fists, the scent of the fresh blood still on his face clearly affecting her. _

"_I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth, taking a seat on her bed and reaching for the bag of jellybeans she had left on the nightstand. She took a handful and crammed them into her mouth, Kol watching her with amusement. _

"_So now you're sublimating the bloodlust with sugar? What do they teach you in Mystic Falls?" _

"_I like it, okay?" said Caroline with a huff, turning away from him and reaching for the remote for the small TV, turning it on and studiously ignoring the Original who was still laughing at her as he went into the bathroom to clean himself up. It was difficult; getting used to the fact that she was on this weird trip with Kol Mikaelson of all people – his feeding habits were the least of her problems. She managed to do damage control when she could, but she wasn't an idiot, she knew he was probably leaving drained bodies all over the place. It didn't help that the next location on their map had turned up another empty house, more people running before they could even get there. And Kol was still withholding the truth from her – needless to say, her doubts about this little mission were getting stronger. _

_She worked her way through the bag of jellybeans while half-paying attention to the James Bond marathon on TV, trying not to dwell on the drastic turn her life had taken. She barely registered Kol stepping out of the bathroom and flopping down on the other bed. _

"_What tripe are you watching?" _

_She turned to him, glad that the blood was gone. She had managed to get a stash of blood bags from a hospital and it kept her going, but she didn't need to deal with cravings, because that would end up triggering the Augustine conditioning and she'd end up tearing through the town they were in until she managed to find a vampire to sate her thirst. "It's James Bond. You know, Double-O seven, British spy, has a license to kill, fast cars, lots of girls? Thought you'd love him."_

"_In the time between getting out of the box my brother kindly stuffed me in and then dealing with your homicidal friends, I never did get much time to play catch up on popular culture. Though I did like the music…" _

_Caroline laughed a little, "Well, it's the middle of the night, there's nothing else on, so you might as well give it a shot," she said, settling back against the headboard of her bed while the opening theme to 'Goldfinger' began to play. _

_Kol rolled his eyes and mimicked her position. "Fine. Can't see what'll come of it though." _

_(SEVEN HOURS LATER)_

_Caroline turned over in bed, cracking an eye open to note that light was streaming in through the window, her bag of jellybeans lying next to her head. She had fallen asleep partway through a movie last night and she looked over, expecting to see Kol asleep too – except he wasn't. The Orignal was perched on the edge of his bed, staring intently at the screen which was still running its marathon, the vampire enthusiastically yelling out commentary as gunfire went off and tires screeched. _

"_Take the shot, you idiot!" _

_Caroline sat up, rubbing her eyes, not fully understanding just what she was seeing. Kol turned around to see her awake, grinning widely. _

"_You're missing the best part! When did you fall asleep?" _

"_Uh…"_

_He didn't care about her answer because he simply turned back to the screen, giving a whoop when a car swerved and another shot was fired. Stunned, Caroline sat there for a moment before figuring she should at least get ready and it was a while before she could convince Kol to do the same. Later, they sat in the car, on their way to their next destination in Illinois, Kol humming the distinctive James Bond theme, tapping his fingers on the wheel. _

"_So…I guess you're a fan?" asked Caroline, torn being amused or weirded out. Technically, being a thousand years old didn't mean you couldn't hold fictional spies as your heroes…it was just strange to see it. _

"_Of course! Think about how much we have in common! Handsome, charming, incredibly good with women…"_

"_Of course you are," said Caroline, rolling her eyes and popping another jellybean in her mouth. "So, how long until Illinois?"_

"_About five hours, Moneypenny."_

_Caroline snapped her head up. "Did you just call me 'Moneypenny'?" she asked him, bewildered. "Why the hell am I 'Moneypenny'?"_

"_I think it fits. She always knows what's going on, she's smart, loyal, dedicated."_

_Caroline was slightly taken aback by his words. "Oh…wow. Thanks, Kol. That's actually kind of sweet."_

"_Plus there was always the constant undercurrent of sexual tension with Bond-"_

"_And we're back," Caroline muttered to herself, rolling her eyes as she pulled out the witches map from her bag and inspected their route. Kol grinned and pushed the car faster, while Caroline grimaced and held on to the ceiling handle._

_At least she was getting used to his driving._

* * *

Klaus stood at the window of the study, glass of bourbon clutched tightly in his hand. He took a long swig as he contemplated exactly how he was going to go about his new goal, wondering exactly what the fallout would be. A familiar silver dagger rested on the desk, glinting in the midday sun, freshly dipped in White Oak ash. Kol was gone at the moment, doing only God knows what out in the city, but he knew that with Kol staying in the mansion he had more than enough opportunity to find his brother and end whatever nonsense he had cooked up. He held off for the moment though, thinking through his plan carefully. For once, he thought of the consequences of putting one of his siblings into a coffin.

Despite the fact that there would be some grief from Elijah, and probably Rebekah, depending on her mood, there was the added factor of Caroline to think about. She had said, repeatedly, that she didn't want him to hurt Kol. But then, he reasoned, she had spent far too long solely in the company of his impetuous and thoughtless brother, she needed to see the truth, and that was that Kol was being a nuisance he was in no mood to tolerate.

"Isn't it just a bit too early for hard liquor?"

Klaus rolled his eyes at the condescension in his big brother's voice, far too used to Elijah trying to rein in every single one of his vices, though alcohol was fairly innocuous in the face of the true horrors the hybrid could inflict. He remained facing the window, hearing Elijah walk in, and the two brothers stayed in silence for a few moments.

"You've been too quiet for too long, Niklaus," Elijah commented after a while.

Klaus scoffed a little, "I would think you'd relish in the chance to get me to keep quiet. Aren't you always complaining about my temper?"

"Your temper I can handle well enough, but I know what happens when you become like _this. _You're going to do something remarkably violent and you're simply storing your anger until it happens."

Klaus turned to see his brother standing across from him, scrutinizing him carefully. "How very perceptive of you," Klaus spat, marching over to the decanter of bourbon on the desk and refilling his glass. "Perhaps instead of wasting your observation skills on me, you might try and figure out what our baby brother is trying so hard to keep from us? Start with how he came back to life and work it out from there. That is of course, if you even give a damn."

Elijah remained stoic at Klaus' caustic words, though his brow furrowed slightly. "Don't presume that I'm not as concerned about Kol's antics as you are, Niklaus," he said sternly. "But it's only been a few days, and frankly, your reaction to all of this is more concerning."

Klaus just drank his fill of liquor, eyeing his brother disdainfully. Elijah's attempts at moralizing were grating, and a bloody waste of time. He had more important things to be worrying about. "Get to the point, brother."

"I'm not going to stand by while you deal with the situation by doing something stupid and impulsive."

"Au contraire, I've been thinking about this one for a while."

Elijah's frown deepened at his brother's choice of words, not understanding the meaning behind them. He glanced away, and finally noticed the item lying on the desk, stiffening as the pieces of Klaus' plans all fell into place. "You're going to dagger Kol?!" he said, his calm façade slipping ever so slightly. "After he just came back into our lives?"

Klaus slammed the glass tumbler down, ignoring the cracks in the fine crystal. "He came back into our lives to cause chaos, Elijah!" Klaus snarled. The alcohol had already gone to his head but Elijah had a thousand years of dealing with his brother's rages to know how to handle them.

"We don't know –"

"And that's just it, isn't it? _We don't know_ because he insists on being a prat and keeping his mouth shut!"

Elijah sighed and raised a hand to placate his brother. "I agree, Kol's reticence is aggravating, but surely there's a reason for it?"

"There is no _reason _besides his own amusement," said Klaus darkly, picking the dagger up and staring at the blade, imagining the silver sinking into his brother's chest. "He enjoys this – lording his secrets over us, watching us panic, trying to figure him out while he swans around _my _city, doing whatever the bloody hell he pleases!"

"Klaus, I agree that Kol is being…well, _Kol_ – but don't you think we should also be concentrating some of our scrutiny on Caroline Forbes?"

Klaus set the dagger down on the desk and sent his brother a cold stare. "Leave Caroline out of this."

"_Why?_" questioned Elijah immediately, coming forward to stand in front of his brother. "Who is this girl Niklaus? Why is she untouchable? She had been working with Kol, she obviously knows what is going on, why aren't you pressing her for further answers?"

"Leave. Her. Alone." Klaus said the words through gritted teeth, but Elijah was not so easily dissuaded, sensing that there was something deeper happening with the young blonde vampire that his younger brother was keeping from him.

"What happened to her, Klaus? That night in the cemetery, she ripped through a dozen vampires. Then that vampire who served Marcel – the one Davina was close to – he was killed too. Was it Caroline? Was she responsible for that?"

Klaus remained silent and that was all the confirmation Elijah needed from his brother. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Niklaus, if the girl is recklessly killing in _your _kingdom, don't you think action needs to be taken?"

"She stays alive!" yelled Klaus immediately, rounding on Elijah and ready to prove his point through any violence necessary.

"How can you let her remain here!" asked Elijah incredulously. "How can you let a threat to this city remain –" Elijah stopped abruptly, his eyes widening in realization. A memory sprang to his mind, a day many years ago when they had to contend with a young upstart hybrid with a grudge against Klaus for a very specific reason…

"The girl you went after in Mystic Falls…it was _her?_"

Klaus stiffened, his lips pressing into a thin line. Again, his silence told Elijah all he needed to know.

"So that's what this is. You have feelings for the girl." Elijah almost looked amused by the fact that his cold-hearted brother was showing such tolerance towards one baby vampire. Klaus clenched and unclenched his fists , his agitation apparent, torn between his natural urge to fight his way out of any situation involving him facing the truth of his emotions.

"Regardless, of what I feel, leave yourself out of the situation, Elijah," ordered Klaus. The last thing he wanted now was _another _brother meddling in his affairs with Caroline, and Elijah had an unfortunate history of sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

"Then explain the situation to me, Klaus," said Elijah tersely. "The girl is what? Twenty years old at most? How long has she been a vampire? Elena Gilbert once told me she had known some of her friends for her entire life, Caroline Forbes can't have been turned more than a few years ago. How does a baby vampire cause this much carnage? Even with Kol teaching her his tricks –"

"She didn't need Kol to teach her – she's been through an ordeal," explained Klaus, not willing to go into specifics. "It's complicated, brother, leave it alone."

"No!" said Elijah, raising his voice, his temper rising, aggravation at the whole situation becoming too much to contain. "You need to question her, thoroughly. She knows what Kol is up to. She has the answers."

"And I will have them," said Klaus evenly, tapping the edge of the dagger on the desk. "Kol is volatile; he's a ticking time bomb. Once I've put him down, I can help Caroline, coax the answers from her and all will be peaceful again."

His plan was clean and simple. Kol was dangerous, unpredictable, and he needed to get Caroline far away from his influence. It was obvious that in her vulnerable state, the young blonde had accepted Kol's help, regardless of how twisted his brother's motives no doubt were. But he could make her see the truth – Kol had _used _her. It was up to him to get her out from under his brother's thumb.

Elijah now regarded his brother warily, sensing that Klaus had completely talked himself into whatever plan he had in his head. "And Caroline…you think she won't object to Kol being daggered, if you go through with it?"

"Caroline will see I'm trying to help her," said Klaus with complete conviction.

Elijah faltered then, his eyes darting towards the silver dagger. Klaus saw his older brother's hesitation and latched onto it immediately, knowing he could persuade Elijah to see the sense in his path.

"Kol is reckless and unpredictable, and the only way we're going to get answers is if he's neatly tucked away. You know I'm right brother."

Elijah's jaw tightened as he considered Klaus' proposal, but the heavy silence was interrupted by a sharp voice.

"He's right, Elijah." Both brothers turned to see Rebekah stride in and join them, taking her place by Elijah's side. "God knows what Kol's doing, but he's being a prick about it. We need to find answers, and if he's not willing to divulge them then he's only going to stand in our way."

Elijah sighed, "Rebekah, you're angry at him but consider that –"

"Yes I'm bloody well angry at him!" cried Rebekah, looking between her older brothers. "He _came back to life. _He was resurrected for god knows how long and he didn't say a thing! Instead, he breezes into this city with Caroline-fucking-Forbes and is happily running around like he owns the place, so, yes, I'm _furious!"_ She ended her rant, breathing heavily, her anger matched by Klaus' smug smile.

"See? Rebekah understands."

"Don't start Nik," she said, rounding on him. "Because it's not just Kol and you know it. Caroline can give us all the answers but you're too busy holding her hand to see that she needs to be held accountable for what she's done."

"The situation with Caroline is complicated, sister," said Klaus, his smirk dropping into an ice-cold stare. "She needs my help, which I will be giving once I've put Kol down. "_Stay away from her. _Understand?" His question was a deadly whisper, and Rebekah matched his glare before the sound of a throat clearing interrupted the tension.

Marcel stood at the doorway to the study, looking between all three siblings. He stepped in slowly, looking between the Originals and the dagger in Klaus' hand. "So, you're finally doing something about that psycho brother of yours?"

Klaus glanced at Elijah, knowing that his hesitance could compromise what he had planned, but after a moment, Elijah gave a terse nod and flashed out of the room, Rebekah following him after one last glare at Klaus.

"Well, glad you finally came to your senses," said Marcel evenly as he walked closer to Klaus.

Klaus smirked and poured himself another drink, twirling the dagger in his hands. "Don't ever question my methods, Marcellus. I _always _know what I'm doing."

* * *

Kol whistled to himself idly as he sauntered back into his family's mansion, making a beeline for his room. The witches of the French Quarter were always such a peculiar bunch, but a lot had changed for them over the centuries. He sighed wistfully, remembering the days when they were properly feared, instead of being relegated to the sidelines, watching the power plays between vampires. Well, at least subjugated witches were more easily bent to his bidding – if he could only find one willing to cooperate with him before he was forced to take more drastic measures.

As he stepped off the top floor of the grand staircase, he found himself blocked suddenly, by none other than his baby sister, who looked ready to rip his head off. So, more or less the way she always looked at him.

(To think, there was time not so long ago when he found he missed the acidity of his sister's glare. But then, that was when he thought she'd never glare at him again. Not that he would ever admit to such sentiment.)

"Bekah! And how are you today?" he asked cheerfully while sidestepping her and continuing to his room. His sister did not disappoint, the sharp tapping of her heels following him down the long hallway, and he could practically hear the gears turning in her head as she thought of a barb to throw at him. She remained silent though, and so Kol ignored her as he walked into the spacious bedroom he had taken over and went to the assortment of papers he had scattered on the desk. A map, a list, multiple pieces of paper covered in old runes all lay there, nothing making sense – well except to him.

Rebekah stood at the doorway to his room, still not saying a word and Kol felt her presence begin to grate. "Any particular reason you're spying on me," he called out and heard her approach him slowly. He spun on his heel and leant against the desk, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow, waiting for her to make her move with a smirk. She looked almost uncomfortable, like there was something she wanted to tell him, but couldn't quite form the words.

"Come on sister, spit it out. I've got things to do, you know?"

"What things?" Rebekah asked, craning her neck to look at the papers on the table. Kol was reasonably sure that none of it would make sense to her, but this was not a path he wanted to go down, not yet.

"Are you here to figure me out?" he asked, earning a scoff in response.

"Why do you have to be so stupidly secretive all the time?" she asked, complete fed up at his behavior.

"Relax, it's nothing for you to worry your pretty head about," said Kol airily, waving her off and inciting her further.

"You bloody _prick_ –" she growled out, but Kol ignored her then, pulling out his phone and dialing quickly.

"Oi, Sweets, meet at that café we were at a few days ago for lunch, I'll see you in soon." He hung up the phone only to have it ripped out of his hands and thrown against the wall by Rebekah, who was now right in front of him, completely livid.

"Oh, here we go," said Kol sarcastically, "come on Bekah, throw your tantrum and be done with it."

"_How dare you," _she snarled, "how dare you come back to life and say absolutely _nothing _to your family?! To _me_?!"

"Oh, because you were always so loyal to me, is that it?" Kol spat back, having had enough of his sister's accusations. He pushed off from the desk and walked forwards, forcing her to retreat slightly. "Shall we talk about all those times you let Nik stuff me in a box?" he asked, noticing how she flinched back. "How you grieved my death for a day before you were best friends with the bitch who killed me?!"

Rebekah clenched her fists, "For God's sake Kol, you were dead! _Dead. _And then you just miraculously come back to life and instead of telling your family, you decide to prance around the country with some twit instead of telling us! I am your _sister, _what makes you think I couldn't have helped you?!"

Kol just laughed in her face, cold and caustic. "You couldn't have helped. You wouldn't have. You would've stuck your head in the sand and pretended nothing was happening."

"You don't know that, you didn't even think to tell us –"

"Why do you care so much about what I was doing?" Kol smirked then, his eyes hard. "Is it because if you were helping me, you could've been taken away from this happy _kingdom?_ I remember the early days you know, I watched it all play out – hardly a fairytale. No, I seem to recall you being sidelined by both of our brothers and the man you professed to care for, all in the name of power. But that's just the way it is, isn't it?" He tilted his head, looking at her with mock pity. "Poor Bekah. Always feeling unappreciated and ignored. Never good enough for anybody."

Rebekah's hand came up like lightning and the sound of her slap echoed through the room. Neither brother nor sister said a word, the former keeping his face stony, while the latter felt her eyes burn with tears.

"You deserve it," she said quietly. "You deserve what's going to happen to you."

Kol stiffened, his eyes hardening in suspicion. "What are you talking about?"

The sound of footsteps interrupted their détente and Kol snapped his head up to meet the eyes of his hybrid brother.

"Kol," he said, deceptively calm, "I think it's time we all had a little chat."

* * *

Caroline huffed as she checked her phone for the tenth time, throwing it down on the table with a bit more force than was necessary upon seeing that she had no messages. Craning her neck, she looked up and down the street from the café, wondering if Kol had gotten distracted with a girl or a meal, but there was no sign of the familiar mop of brown hair or hint of his distinctive accent, no matter how carefully she listened for it. She was definitely annoyed now, what was the point of dragging her from redecorating if he was going to be a no-show? She picked up her phone again, flipping through some pictures she had taken over the last year, when she was startled out of her solitude by someone setting across from her.

"Finally, what he hell took you so long…" Caroline trailed off as she looked up and realized that while there was a Mikaelson sitting across from her, it was decidedly _not _Kol.

"Good afternoon, Miss Forbes."

"Elijah…uh, hi! What are you doing here?" Caroline sat up straighter, feeling an almost irrational urge to appear more proper and refined than she probably was as a twenty-year old.

(Thank God for Miss Mystic Falls training.)

Elijah sat still and silent opposite her, observing her carefully for a moment. He was impeccably dressed, his suit looking perfectly normal for him despite it just being a casual, sunny afternoon in the French Quarter, hardly a place requiring formality.

After letting them sit in silence while he assessed her, Elijah finally spoke. "How do you find New Orleans?"

His question was polite but his voice was as cold as steel and Caroline felt her nerves rise. "It's beautiful," she answered carefully. "Very different from Mystic Falls."

Elijah nodded thoughtfully. "And how is Mystic Falls?"

His question was innocent but Caroline stiffened, ducking her head slightly, not willing to think about her hometown, now or ever if she could help it. "It's fine."

Elijah's eyes narrowed at her obvious avoidance of the topic, but let the issue slide, for which Caroline was grateful for. For all that Elijah was purported to be the 'noble' one of the Originals, it didn't change the fact that he was as old and as deadly as the rest of his family. His quiet scrutiny was something she was incredibly unfamiliar with, and for a moment, she saw the cold, cruel man he could be when crossed. A shiver raced up her spine as she realized just how precarious her situation was.

"So!" said Caroline brightly, trying to appear as composed as possible, "Do you know where Kol is? He sent me a message saying that he'd meet me here soon, but he's late."

"Kol is currently busy with Niklaus and Rebekah," answered Elijah evenly.

"He's 'busy'?" asked Caroline, immediately apprehensive. "That doesn't make sense, he said he would meet me – "

"Caroline, my brother has returned back to my family from the dead, surely there's a lot to be discussed there?"

She bristled at his sharp tone, recognizing his underlying message. _'This is family business. Keep yourself out of it.'_

"Then why wouldn't he tell me?" she asked carefully, trying not to say anything too provoking.

"Perhaps he simply forgot, Kol can be rather careless you know," said Elijah with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Not that it particularly matters, I was rather hoping to get a moment alone to speak with you."

Caroline raised an eyebrow, having a pretty good idea of what Elijah was going to ask her, but her suspicion had been sufficiently aroused. "And what do you want to _talk _about?"

"What are you and my brother doing here?"

"Maybe you should ask Kol."

"I'm asking _you." _ Elijah folded his arms on top of the table and leant forward slightly, lowering his voice. "You appear in this city by my brother's side, you're clearly helping him on some matter involving his resurrection, don't you think we have a right to know what's going on?"

Caroline faltered, knowing that she had given similar arguments to Kol ever since they set foot in Louisiana, but she wasn't about to crack under this kind of interrogation. "I promised Kol I'd keep things quiet. I'm not going to break that promise."

Elijah leant back, assessing her carefully. "I see. I must say, you're very loyal to my brother."

"He helped me when I needed it."

"Ah yes, I suppose that has something to do with your odd tendency to rip apart vampires rather than humans?"

Caroline felt her jaw tighten and couldn't think of what to say, but she met his stare unblinkingly.

"You have to know that such behavior is incredibly shunned amongst vampires," said Elijah, noticing her discomfort. "I suppose having an Original on your side would help you survive whatever affliction you've developed. But you can't get used to having Kol by your side constantly."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped before thinking, sensing that Elijah was hiding something in his words. "Elijah, where the hell is Kol? What's he really doing?"

"You're fairly brave," he said, sidestepping her question entirely. "Or at least, you're not as scared as most would be."

"Where's Kol?" Caroline pressed again, suddenly remembering Klaus' behavior the last time she had seen him. "Elijah, is Klaus going to do something?! Please, you have to tell me, you can't let him do anything to Kol, he doesn't understand what's going on –"

"Then explain it to me," Elijah interrupted sharply. "Let us in on the matter; tell me how Kol came back to life and what the two of you are so adamant to keep quiet."

"I can't!" Caroline cried, shaking her head, clenching and unclenching her fists on the table, her fingers twisting her ring nervously.

Elijah sighed in frustration, and stood up abruptly. "Have it your way. Keep your silence for now but know that it can't last. You'll have to speak up eventually, very soon, Kol won't be able to." He turned and left, leaving Caroline shaken in her seat, staring at his retreating back with growing trepidation.

He had clearly meant something by his last words, he had let something slip that he never meant to – something was wrong. The Original family never liked being denied the truth and they had been kept from their brother's secrets for too long. Kol was in some sort of danger, and she could make a pretty good guess as to what it was.

"Damn it Kol!" she muttered under her breath, making up her mind and springing to her feet, running after Elijah as quickly as she could and hoping she wasn't too late.

* * *

"You know, I'm starting to feel a little ganged up on here," said Kol with a smirk as he leant back against his desk, facing down his brother and sister. Neither looked particularly in the mood for jokes, Rebekah still scowling from his earlier insult.

"It's because you _are_ being cornered, Kol," said Klaus with a light sneer. "This has gone on long enough; we're not letting you leave without giving us some proper answers."

"I'm starting to see why it might have been a good idea to keep things to myself," Kol fired back, readying himself for a fight.

Klaus clenched his fists and stared down his brother. "I'm putting an end to this, Kol. You are in _my _city, in _my _kingdom, and you will obey _my _rules!"

"Your _rules_? This is bigger than you, _Niklaus. _I don't have time to care about your _rules._"

"Then we have a problem, Kol." A new voice joined the fray and Elijah stepped into the room, hands tucked in the pockets of his suit, looking grim as he surveyed his younger siblings. "What reason could you possibly have for keeping the fact that you were _alive _from us?"

"I'm seeing _plenty _of good reasons," spat Kol as he eyed his hostile family.

"Enough!" roared Klaus. "I've had _enough _of your games, Kol, so if you insist on holding your silence, then you leave us no choice." Klaus reached into his jacket and pulled out a familiar silver dagger, the sight of which made Kol's eyes widen, just for a moment.

"So predictable, Nik," said Kol in a low whisper as he eyed the dagger. He looked up towards Elijah and Rebekah, "Aren't you two tired of daggers? Couldn't you have gotten rid of them at some point?" He smirked, but neither of them rose to the jibe, instead moving to flank Klaus. Kol realized it then, that his fate had already been decided upon, not just by Klaus – but by all of them.

(He didn't know if he'd ever live to admit it, but the betrayal stung.)

"Unbelievable!" he yelled, his fury rising. "So this is it then, _family above all, always and forever – _that was your little coda, wasn't it? For a thousand years, it was nothing more than a _joke._"

Klaus growled and his grip on the dagger tightened in threat, but Kol just laughed in his face and spread his arms wide, taking a step forward.

"Go on then! Put me down! You have no idea what will come next, no _clue _of the hell that's going to descend, but if you're so adamant on maintaining your _kingdom, _then drive a dagger through my heart!"

"Have it your way brother," spat Klaus.

"_No!"_

He rushed forward, eyes golden and fangs dropped, and felt the dagger sink into soft flesh, but instead of the greying face of his little brother, he was met instead by blonde curls and wide blue eyes, soft pink lips parted in shock as the pain of a knife to the heart took hold.

Caroline had run into the room at the last second. She had taken the dagger for Kol.

The blade was not fully lodged in her heart, and it wouldn't do much to hurt her, being a weapon used only for Original vampires, but a dagger to the heart hurt nonetheless and Caroline nearly buckled over from the sharp edge of the blade scraping against her chest. She focused her strength on remaining upright, staring Klaus straight in the eye with as much resolve as she could manage, trying to convey the fact that she wasn't about to back down.

"Nice timing Sweets," she heard Kol mutter from behind her.

"Shut up jackass, I'm trying to save your life!" she hissed back, still keeping her gaze locked with Klaus who couldn't erase the shock from his face.

Klaus looked between Caroline's steely eyes and then glanced down at the dagger in her chest. Blood was pooling, marring the flowery dress she was wearing, _he was the cause. _He yanked the dagger out then, and took a step back, staring at her in disbelief, words lodged in his throat.

"Caroline, you need to leave this to us," said Elijah gravely, taking a step forward before a light growl from Klaus stopped him. Despite what she had just done, his edict that no one should touch her remained in place. At least, no one but him.

"Get out before I rip your heart out myself!" screeched Rebekah, furious again that Caroline and Kol stood against them.

"I'm not leaving," said Caroline evenly, and Klaus snarled then, torn between pleading with her and snapping her neck to get her out of the way. It was only the dark red stain of blood on her that kept him at bay, after all these years, he still felt guilt at the thought of harming Caroline Forbes.

"So this is how deep your loyalty runs?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Yeah, it is," she said determinedly, licking her lips and straightening up.

"You would go so far as to presume you can fight off three Originals?!" he yelled, pointing the dagger in the her direction.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked, hoping that she had called his bluff. And he did falter, just for a second before he strode forward, enraged and Caroline cast around her mind desperately for the words that would convince him why he shouldn't hurt her.

"You don't get it, do you?! For an entire year, he was the only person I knew. He was the only person I really talked to, the only one who knew my real name, the only person who knew what I was going through! The thing is…I owe him. So I can't let you kill him, not over this."

Her declaration hung in the air, and Caroline hoped to God it was enough. Elijah and Rebekah made no move to try and take her out, thank God, and Klaus could only stare her down, torn between harming her and allowing her to leave with Kol and she could tell it was taking everything he had not to simply reach around her and simply deal with Kol himself.

"What the _fuck _are you waiting for?! Just kill both of them!" All attention turned to yet another newcomer and Klaus turned to find Marcel, who he knew had been waiting downstairs while the siblings dealt with their brother, standing in the doorway, staring at Klaus with contempt. "Come on, do it!"

"Stay out of this!" Klaus snarled, but his order was punctuated by a loud crash and he turned back to see that the window to Kol's back had been smashed through, Kol and Caroline nowhere to be seen.

"_Fuck,_" he snarled, going over to the open window and seeing no sign of either his brother or Caroline on the ground below. It was hardly a long jump for vampires, but he had been robbed of his chance to put Kol down, at least not without completely incurring Caroline's ire. She had made her position clear – she would stand between him and Kol. And if there was anything that could have been weighted against his current anger at his brother, it was the promise he made to Caroline that he would help her.

Turning back to face the others, he was met with Rebekah, taking one long hard look at him and then turning on her heel and marching out with a scoff. Elijah followed, sighing while he went, leaving only Marcel.

"You said you had things under control, Klaus!" yelled Marcel. "You said you knew what you were doing, why didn't you take them both out?!"

"It would appear the situation is more complex than I thought," said Klaus, ignoring Marcel as he went over to the desk and tore through the papers in a fury, intent on either taking out his anger or figuring out a fragment of Kol's secret on his own.

Marcel seethed, watching Klaus, he knew with certainty that Davina had been right. Klaus would never make a move against his brother, or the blonde vampire. He had lost sight of what was good for New Orleans. With newfound certainty, he flashed out of the room.

Klaus shredded the papers with ease, none of them providing a hint of useful information. Random runes, names of towns, all were meaningless to him, so with a roar he picked up a chair and flung it into a wall, tipping over the entire desk a moment later. He moved to cause some more damage before he looked down to glimpse a scrap of paper underneath his foot. He leant down and picked it up, recognizing it as a sketch of a mark he had only ever seen once before in his life. A mark connected to a threat that he had _never _hoped to encounter again.

He knew where Kol and Caroline had gone. And _finally, _he was catching on to the truth.

* * *

"Bloody, godforsaken, _bastards!_" Kol ranted, pacing like a caged tiger in the living room of Caroline's apartment. "Who cares if Nik's the only _actual_ one, Elijah's such a _hypocrite, _it's unbelievable, to say nothing about Rebekah who only cares about those daggers if they're being shoved into her own bloody heart, not that the strumpet doesn't deserve it!"

"Who calls people strumpets these days?" muttered Caroline under her breath as she walked out of the bedroom, having changed into blood free clothes. Kol paid her no attention, but she figured she had better let him get it out of his system, he was completely furious. And if she had to guess – she'd say he was hurt, too.

"They were so ready to just shove me into a box, and it hasn't even been a week, those _wankers!_"

"I'm surprised Klaus waited this long," said Caroline drily, ignoring the glare Kol tossed her. "Oh come on Kol – you know him way better than I do, and even I know that he has insane temper issues. Are you actually surprised?"

Kol sighed, the tension dropping off slightly as he ran a hand over his face. "No," he conceded. "I'm not surprised. I just didn't think they'd put up such a _united _front."

Caroline sighed, but tried to remain optimistic. "Look on the bright side, at least you didn't actually end up in a coffin, right?" she said cheerfully.

Kol looked her over for a moment and cleared his throat, looking a little awkward. "On that score – that thing that you did – when you stopped Nik. That was – it was very - "

Caroline grinned. "You're welcome, Kol."

He smirked, "Thanks, Caroline. Really." He flopped down on the sofa in front of the TV, and leant his head back, mulling over the past hour. "'Always and Forever!' For a thousand years, that bloody triumvirate ran around acting as if they actually gave two shits about _family._" His words were caustic and bitter, and he spat them out with disdain.

"Relax, I'm going to cheer you up," said Caroline, coming to sit down next to him, setting a bowl of jellybeans on the coffee table in front of them, and holding one hand behind her back.

"And _how _do you intend that, darling?" asked Kol tiredly.

She smiled and pulled out her hidden hand revealing what she had been holding, a DVD.

"_From Russia with Love?" _Kol asked, a smile spreading on his face.

"Well, Sean Connery _is_ your favourite Bond, even though I think Daniel Craig is _way_ better, but you're the one who almost got shoved in a coffin so I guess it's only fair. What do you say?" she asked with a knowing smirk that was quickly matched by him and not moments later they sat in companionable silence, watching the first scenes of the movie play out on the screen in front of them.

Caroline took a handful of Jellybeans and shoved them into her mouth, earning her a sigh from Kol. "Alright darling, spit it out," he said with a wave of his hand.

"Whadyoumean?" asked Caroline through a mouthful of jellybeans.

"You shove food in your face when you're nervous, what's on your mind?"

Caroline swallowed the candy and bit her lip, eventually meeting Kol's stare hesitantly. "Okay look, so I know they just sort of ganged up on you and tried to kill you…but I think you still need to get your siblings help."

"Are you crazy?!" Kol asked, "After what they tried to do to me?"

"Kol, you show up here, and don't say a word about how or why, don't you think they're going to be just a little suspicious?" Caroline said earnestly. "And besides, we _never _had to reveal ourselves like we did; you _wanted _them to know you were alive. You're the one who stayed in the mansion; you know that a part of you wants to be with your family again."

"Caroline, I don't think you fully realize the issue here. _They want me dead," _said Kol adamantly.

"They want the truth!" said Caroline, "Don't they deserve to know? Plus, we're running out of leads, we need more help!"

Kol scoffed and turned away from her, focusing on watching James Bond grapple with an adversary. "Why do you care so much if my siblings and I ever properly reconcile?"

"Maybe I just want somebody to get a happy ending," said Caroline quietly, sitting back in her seat, watching the movie in silence.

_BANG!_

The sound had not been from the TV and they jumped to their feet, facing the door which had been kicked open, Klaus standing in the threshold. He marched in and reached into his jacket, and both Kol and Caroline stood ready for a dagger to be drawn. However, instead of a blade, Klaus produced a piece of paper and threw it at their feet. Caroline bent quickly and picked it up, recognizing the illustration – and immediately, she knew Klaus had recognized it too.

"When were you going to speak up?" he asked, his voice a deadly whisper. "How long were you going to keep this to yourself?"

"Nik, you have no idea what's going on," said Kol darkly.

"_THEN EXPLAIN IT TO ME!_" Klaus roared. "Explain it _all_ – and tell me what the hell it has to do with _Silas."_

___All day I've been wondering  
What is inside of me,  
Who can I blame for it?  
I say it runs in the family_

* * *

**Well. There's that. Lot's to tell there, and hopefully it'll come soon, until then, please let me know what you thought! I've got so many reviews to reply to, which I'll hopefully be doing presently.**

**Chapter title and song lyrics are from "Runs in the Family" by Amanda Palmer**

**Goodnight folks!**


	5. Team

**Author's Note: And this chapter is brought to you by Nathaniel Buzolic guest starring on Pretty Little Liars and thus reaffirming my love of him. Thank you very, very, _very, _much to all of you wonderful readers, for every review and alert, it absolutely means the world. Answers ahead in this one!**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine.**

* * *

_Wait 'til you're announced  
We've not yet lost all our graces  
The hounds will stay in chains  
Look upon your greatness  
That you'll send the call out_

_**THE CAVES UNDERNEATH MYSTIC FALLS,  
MARCH 2014 **_

_Drip, drip, drip…_

_That was the first thing he heard. The first thing his senses could focus on, the solitary drip of water, from somewhere nearby. Gradually, he became aware of his surroundings, the feel of cold earth beneath his body, the faint taste of ash in the air. And as he finally cracked open his heavy eyes, he saw the darkness around him clear and soon became apparent that he was surrounded. _

"_What in hell…" he muttered, his voice nothing more than a hoarse whisper, his throat parched from disuse. _

"_Rise, vampire. Rise and witness your resurrection." The command was from a female very close by and Kol managed to turn his head to see a young woman kneeling near his head, her pale hands fluttering near him as she held one wrist over his mouth and held a sharp blade in her other hand, quickly slitting her vein and letting blood fall into Kol's mouth. As the blood slid down his throat, Kol slowly, slowly felt his strength returning, the power granted by a thousand years of being one of the world's most terrifying creatures and he relished in the feeling of his body once more coming alive. If he had any state of priorities he might wonder more how this could possibly be happening, but the rush was too much, the blood was too much and it consumed his every thought in that one, fleeting moment_

_Too soon the hand was pulled away but its job was done, Kol sat up and fully took stock of where he was. The cave was dark and damp but as he narrowed in his gaze on the walls, he realized there were some very familiar markings on the walls. _

"_Why am I here?" he asked curtly. Surrounding him were no less than twelve people, all silently watching him, their stares wide and unblinking. _

"_You have been chosen," explained the woman kneeling next to him, who slowly rose to her feet, uncaring of her bleeding wound, though Kol eyed it hungrily. He held off on attacking her though – first, he wanted answers._

"_I'll ask again," he said coldly. "Moments ago I was a ghost in New Orleans, what am I doing in a cave underneath Mystic Falls?" _

"_You have been chosen," repeated the woman, whom he could only assume was a witch. "You have been chosen to assist with the resurrection."_

_Kol rolled his eyes, and gathering his strength, shot to his feet. "Nice try, darling –" he started before a searing pain shot through his skull and doubled him over. He gritted his teeth, more than used to these parlour tricks, but for the first time in a long while, he couldn't bring himself to fight past the haze. Then he realized – he may have been alive, but his strength wasn't what it should be. _

"_What – are – you – doing?!" he said through gritted teeth. _

"_Your resuscitation is not complete," said the witch, her voice soft and composed. Too composed for the situation. Almost as if she was in a haze herself. The pain stopped, but Kol remained on his knees, looking up at the face of the mysterious woman. Dark hair framed a serene face, an expression he noticed was mirrored on the others surrounding her, and the entire coven appeared to be in a trancelike state._

"_You will not know absolute life until your mission is complete," said the witch, completely oblivious to Kol's scrutiny._

_Kol gulped down air, his mind racing as he realized that he was not going to be able to fight off the entire coven in his current state. "And what precisely is my 'mission'?" he asked with contempt._

"_You will help us bring Him back," said the witch, her mouth twisting into a smile, her tranquil attitude enough to make her look slightly psychotic. _

"_Bring 'who' back?" he asked warily. _

"_The First Immortal."_

* * *

_**COLUMBUS, INDIANA  
APRIL, 2014**_

"_I am so _bored!"_ Caroline dropped her head back against the car's headrest, trying futilely to stretch her limbs in the restricted space of the SUV. Dropping her hands on her head, she squinted through the windshield, watching the front porch of the house not too far ahead, hoping that there was going to be some payoff really soon for the past five hours._

"_Relax darling, eat some jellybeans," said Kol dismissively, leaning back in the driver's seat, his legs propped up on the dashboard. "The problem with young vampires today, you have no patience."_

"_Gee, thanks Grandpa," Caroline muttered, diving her hand into the bag of candy resting in the center console and talking a handful, shoving it in the face. The sugar took some of the edge off for now, but if she had to stay in the car for much longer, she was going to lose it._

"_She'll be back sooner or later, cheer up," said Kol, waving off her obvious irritation. "Once she's home, we pop in, ask a few questions and we're golden! Now for God's sake will you please stop tapping your foot?"_

_Caroline hadn't even realized her foot moving, but she stilled it with a scowl, crossing her arms and focusing on staying still. "I don't get it," she said after a moment, "I always thought _you _would hate just…siting around."_

"_Oh believe me, I do," said Kol, smirking. "But try and remember that I just spent a significant amount of time _dead, _stuck on the Other Side with absolutely nothing to do except sit around, watching people."_

_They lapsed into silence. Caroline fought not to fidget but now her mind was filled with questions, and she wasn't sure how to ask them. "Kol?" she said hesitantly. "What's it like? Being on the Other Side?"_

_He took a breath, still facing the darkness. "It's boring. And lonely, I suppose. Not a lot to do."_

_He didn't face her, but Caroline noticed the weight of his words. She couldn't think of what else to say, though she still had so many questions for him. Before she could manage another word, he jolted forward slightly, intently peering out the window, his lips twisting into a pleased smile. _

"_She's back," he said and Caroline leant forward, noticing the dark silhouette of a young woman standing in front the door, twisting a key in the lock. Both vampires were out of the car and in front of her before she could close it behind her. _

"_Evening love," said Kol cheerfully. "Mind if we step in?" He didn't wait for a response, his pupils dilating before the witch could think to do a thing to fight him off, "Let us inside, there's a good girl." _

"_C-come in," she said shakily and Kol and Caroline pushed their way in, Caroline being sure to send what she hoped was a reassuring smile at the young woman. With any luck, they would get answers but no bloodshed – but she knew how this night could go._

"_You're him," she said, staring at Kol's face. To Caroline's surprise, the fear suddenly left the witch, a soft serene smile taking its place. "You're the one they spoke about." _

"_Who spoke about what?" asked Caroline, looking between the witch and Kol. "Kol, what the hell is she talking about?"_

_He looked at Caroline with a grimace, then sighed in resignation. "I suppose you're probably going to find out now," he muttered irritated. Instead of actually providing answers though, he turned to the witch and pulled her through her living room and into her kitchen, pushing her into a seat. _

"_I need answers pet," he said lowly. "Tell me where you're all running off to."_

"_We will gather, we will wait," said the woman cryptically, much to Kol's irritation. _

"_Where?" he asked again, "Tell me where I can find them!" _

_He was losing his control, something Caroline hadn't seen for a while so she hurried to stand by him, tugging his arm until he faced her. "Tell me what's going on Kol," she said firmly, "What is she talking about? How does she know you?" _

"_I suspect they've shared the story," Kol said, "They must have sent out a warning to all their members, telling them to keep their silence."_

"_Jesus Christ, who are you even talking about?!" asked Caroline, just as frustrated as he was. "Who is this coven, what do they want with you?!"_

"_He must fulfill his mission." They whipped their heads around to see the witch had slipped away from her chair and was now standing in front of a knife block, a large blade in her hand. _

"_That's not going to work," said Caroline, rolling her eyes. _

_The witch smiled, just wide enough for it to be creepy, before she looked over and stared Kol straight in the eyes. "You must complete your mission. The first immortal must be resurrected." She lifted her knife then, but she didn't aim for either vampire. _

_She sank the blade straight into her own heart._

"_No!" cried Caroline flashing over, fangs already tearing into her own wrist but the damage was done, the life had faded from the witch's eyes and all that was left was corpse. _

"_Oh my god," said Caroline, stunned by the sudden move. "Oh. My. God." She stood up, clenching the edge of the counter, the scent of blood already wreaking havoc on her senses but she focused on Kol who was staring at the witch grimly. _

"_Well that's a shame," he muttered. "Remind me to just compel them immediately next time."_

"_Don't!" cried Caroline, holding up her hand. "Don't joke about this, don't make some fucking cryptic joke right now, and do not lie to me!" She was surprised at how furious she sounded, but her mind was working double-time, the witch's last words ringing in her ear. _

"_She said…she said the First Immortal had to be resurrected. Who was she – did she mean – " There was one name she associated with the words 'First Immortal' these days, just one. And if insane suicidal witches were involved…_

_She looked straight at Kol. He watched her put the pieces together, and saw the exact moment she realized the truth and looked to him for confirmation. _

"_Silas," he said with a nod. "This is about Silas."_

* * *

"I want _answers!" _Klaus yelled, storming into the apartment, the door banging shut behind him with finality. It made Caroline feel trapped, and she squirmed where she stood, unsure how to start this off. She knew it was a long time coming, she wanted it to happen – but she had never actually put much thought into _how _it would happen. This wasn't something you just blurted out, despite how good she usually was with saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

(In retrospect, it's amazing she didn't spill the beans sooner.)

She looked at Kol who met her eyes and she could still see the hesitation there. Klaus noticed their silent conversation, and growled, the sound reverberating off the walls.

"Enough of your silent games, I came here for an explanation," he snarled.

"I'm reluctant to give one," Kol spat back, "Considering not one hour ago you were ready to kill me!"

"That can still be arranged," said Klaus with a dark smirk, and Caroline hastened to intervene.

"No one's dying tonight," she said firmly, and both looked at her. She squirmed again and found her voice, "Look, we're going to tell you everything," she said, noting Kol's glare. "He needs to know!" she said earnestly. "How much longer did you think you could keep this up?"

Kol was the one to growl then, but he acquiesced, stomping over to the kitchen and rifling around for three glasses and a bottle of scotch. "Sit down," he called over his shoulder and after a moment, Klaus obliged, taking a seat on the sofa, noticing the large bag of jellybeans and the James Bond movie on screen.

"Uh, sorry, those are mine," said Caroline, feeling a little sheepish as she took the candy and popped a few in her mouth, the stress of the situation getting to her. She sat down next to Klaus, who looked her over skeptically, but she made no apologies for her favourite snack, or the movie that blared on the screen.

"What? I like sugar and we watch James Bond movies when we're bored!" she said, feeling a little defensive of the admittedly odd habits she had picked up with Kol.

"Moneypenny, let me tell you the secret of the world," quoted Kol with a grin as he handed a drink to Caroline, and then one to Klaus.

Caroline lightened up at his line, but saw Klaus looking between them with a hard look in his eyes. Kol shut the screen off and took a seat in the armchair, all three looking at each other to break the awkward silence. Finally, Klaus did.

"How did you come back to life?" he asked his brother.

"A coven of witches."

"Any why in hell would a coven want anything to do with you?" Klaus asked, his brow furrowed.

"They needed him to help them with something," supplied Caroline eagerly. "They thought he would be the one able to do what they needed."

Klaus scoffed. "They were clearly uninformed," he said derisively, taking a sip of his scotch.

"On the contrary brother, I think we both know I'm the only member of this family capable of getting anything done," said Kol with a sneer. "Whereas you are only good for throwing tantrums while Elijah cleans up your messes and Rebekah cries over her lovers."

"You little prat –"

"Seriously?! Can we please not do 'this', right now?" asked Caroline in irritation.

Both brothers stared each other down for a moment before Kol conceded. "Fine. I don't know how – but they knew about my past, specifically my time in Africa, in the thirteenth century, remember?"

"I seem to recall feeling some semblance of peace, so I can only assume you were far away from us, yes," said Klaus.

Kol rolled his eyes, "Well, while you were no doubt entertaining some delusions of power, I had made the acquaintance of a coven of witches that worshipped the being they termed as 'The First Immortal'."

"Silas," said Caroline quietly.

Klaus gritted his teeth. "That was well over nine hundred years ago, what does that have to do with what is happening now?"

Kol frowned, "Put it together, will you? _They're back._ And their mission has remained unchanged. They want to bring back Silas."

Silence hung in the air between them. Klaus slammed his glass down on the coffee table, clenching his fists on his knees, his mind stewing over Kol's revelation. "It makes no sense," he said after a moment, "How could a coven of witches that existed in the twelfth century be back _now?_ I thought you killed them all!"

"I did kill them all!" said Kol, although he couldn't help a flicker of uncertainty.

"Clearly you weren't thorough enough!" spat Klaus, "And considering how careless you are, this doesn't surprise-"

"_Careless?_ Oh that's rich coming from someone who's spent centuries making messes the rest of us had to deal with – "

"Stop it!" interjected Caroline. The brothers faced each other off, fury radiating off both.

"How do I know this is even the truth?" asked Klaus through narrowed eyes.

"It's true, Klaus. I promise," said Caroline softly. She raised her hand, uncertain whether or not to lay it on his arm, but she held off, not sure if he would appreciate the gesture right now.

Klaus looked her over at her, searching her face for any hint of deception. Finding none, he softened just a touch before hardening his gaze again and turning back to Kol. "Why did you drag her into this?" he asked harshly.

"Hey, no one dragged me into anything!"

"I needed her help," explained Kol with a shrug. "The witches held my full strength over my head, they swore they were only going to bring be back permanently if I helped them, and that was never going to happen, so I needed someone watching my back while I at least tried to stop them."

"I was the backup," said Caroline, not able to help the small rush of pride she felt.

"And bloody well good at it too," said Kol, raising his glass to toast her.

Caroline smiled in gratitude, "Well, you needed it."

Klaus huffed in annoyance, "Could you please explain what precisely you've been doing for an entire bloody _year _before you decided to grace us with your presence here?"

"We needed to track down the witches, and stop them. It was far more than the twelve that brought me back, I was sure of that, and I was right. They're scattered all over the country. But we've only been able to make contact with a handful, and they've been rather…unhelpful."

"We went to New York," said Caroline, sitting up and adding to the story. "Apparently they were going to be meeting there, and we wanted to crash it – but things sort of went wrong. But, we did end up with this list of names, actual names of some of the members, we think they might even be higher-ups in the cult."

"And that list led us here," added Kol. "Jack Carraway was on it, but clearly he found out we were here, just like the rest of them."

Klaus took a deep breath, absorbing all that they had told him. "All this time," he said in a deadly whisper, "all this time you _knew, _that someone was trying to bring _Silas _back but you kept silent?! You played your ridiculous games, you said _nothing – " _

"Of course I said nothing!" cried Kol, rising to his feet. "Do you remember the last time you were faced with the possibility of Silas? Do you remember how you scoffed, how you cared so little that I was forced to take it upon myself – do you remember how I _died _in the process?!"

Klaus leapt to his feet, facing down his little brother, ready to yell back but Kol's words triggered a memory, a memory he had, in all honestly attempted to suppress – the memory of his brother's body in flames.

"An entire _year,_" said Klaus, "You had no right to wait that long."

"I had every right, and every reason," spat Kol.

Klaus growled, but before he could hurt Kol, he flashed over to the nearest lamp, grabbing it and throwing it against a wall, ignoring Caroline's shriek.

"Hey, I'm in the middle of redecorating!" she cried indignantly, but Klaus brushed her off, storming through the front door.

"Prick," Kol muttered, staring after his brother. "Do you see why I held off on telling him? The bastard could never deal with a crisis that wasn't about him."

"He's just…overwhelmed," said Caroline, running a hand through her hair. "I was too, remember. We just – we have to talk to him." Making up her mind, she ran out after Klaus and after a moment more of cursing his brother to hell, Kol decided to follow her.

* * *

_**THE WITCH'S HOUSE, COLUMBUS, INDIANA  
APRIL 2014**_

_Caroline sat in the seat the witch had, trying to process everything Kol had told her. "I don't get it," she said quietly. "You just said you killed the coven centuries ago, how can they be back?" _

_Kol ran a hand over his face. "Look, I don't know, okay? I don't know how they're back, I don't know how it could be possible, I just know it's happening. They want Silas back."_

"_How do you even know they'll be able to do it."_

"_I don't. But they've already managed to come back from extinction, so I'm in no position to underestimate them, am I?"_

_Caroline took a deep, shuddering breath, a deluge of memories coming back to her. Silas impersonating Klaus, Silas almost killing her mother, Silas doing everything in his power to make their lives hell. He had put Stefan in a safe underwater, he was ruthless and powerful – and she knew one thing with certainty. _

_She never wanted to face him again. _

"_I can't – I can't deal with this again," she said shakily, unable to meet Kol's eyes. _

"_What are you saying, Caroline," asked Kol darkly. _

"_I can't have anything to do with Silas again, I'm sorry!" she said before rising to her feet and flashing out the front door without thinking about what she was doing. She was jerked back by a hand on her arm and then she was facing Kol who was staring her down murderously._

"_You can't be serious," he said with a sneer. "You're going to run? I'll be honest, I never took you for such a coward."_

_She flinched, and tried to push him off, beating her hand against his jacket but to no avail. _

"_I can't do this!" she cried in desperation. "The Augustine society – and now this – I can't, I won't deal with all of this!"_

"_You're quite the disappointment," Kol hissed, and she knew he was doing his best to hurt her if she wouldn't help._

"_You should've told me!" she cried. "You should've told me right from the start that this was about Silas!"_

_Kol scoffed and loosened his grip for a second, long enough for Caroline to wrench her arm away and run. Kol let her go for a moment, feeling the unmistakable twinge of disappointment. But that shouldn't have been the case – she was just a baby vampire. They were a dime a dozen, and he would find another. _

_(He knows that at least a part of that thought is a lie. There are lots of baby vampires in the world, but none with the exact drive and tenacity of Caroline Forbes.)_

_A squeal of tires sounded through the night and Kol frowned, immediately reaching his hand into his pocket, only to find it empty. Her realized that the little vampire had actually pickpocketed him while she was trying to fight him off!_

_Flashing over to where he had parked, his suspicions were confirmed. "The bitch stole the car," he muttered to himself, mostly out of anger and frustration. But there's a little part of him – a small part, mind – that found he admired the move. _

"_Well played Moneypenny," he muttered to himself before preparing to stalk back to the motel, and figure out his next move from there._

* * *

Caroline rushed through the crowds of the French Quarter, taking care not to run at her full vampire speed. As much as she knew this was vampire central, that didn't mean there were no tourists milling around, and she kept up appearances for their sake. It made it slightly more difficult to locate Klaus however, and she scanned the street for sandy-blonde curls but found no sign of the hybrid anywhere.

She turned in her spot, looking for a hint of where he could've gone and stilled when she realized that there was somebody watching her. On one of the balconies overlooking Bourbon Street, a man leant against the railing, watching her intently. She glared up at him, figuring he was just a bored tourist before she noticed someone standing under the street corner, watching her as well. Frowning, she was about to flash over and ask them exactly what they were so interested in when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jerked, but relaxed when she realized it was only Kol.

"Have you seen your brother?" she asked quickly, deciding to ignore her new fans.

"Not hair nor hide," said Kol, rolling his eyes. "What are you even trying to accomplish?" he asked. "You know Nik does things like this, he'll drain a few bodies and find us in the morning."

"I'd like to avoid the drained bodies part if you don't mind," said Caroline, prompting another eye roll. "Look, I'll stay on Bourbon Street, why don't you check the bars on St. Ann?"

Kol complied and sauntered off, leaving Caroline to walk the street, still craning her neck for any sign of Klaus. She was jostled by someone as she stood on a street corner, and she turned with an indignant "Hey!" but was met with the scowling faces of two men, both towering over her. Her new 'stalkers', she realized.

"We've been lookin' for you, bitch," said one of them.

"Well, you've found me," said Caroline, hands on hips, readying for a fight. "What the fuck do you want? I've got hybrids to track down."

One of the men reached forward and pushed her, she easily grabbed his wrist and snapped it. "Listen buddy, I just said I have things to do, so find some other hobby, got it?"

She ran off, hoping they had gotten the point that she wasn't just some dumb blonde, but a sudden impact forced her off her feet and sent her flying into an alleyway. Groaning, she picked herself up from the grimy ground and flashed to her feet, noticing her stalkers stood a few feet away. And this time, they had brought friends.

"Someone plan a party?" she asked glibly, not showing any concern, though ten-to-one odds weren't exactly favourable. Not that she was afraid of her own death though – but she doubted these guys cared much about her current control issues.

"A party to finally take you out," said the same man who had threatened her earlier. "You want to just walk in here and kill our friends? Not gonna happen. This is what happens when you mess with the Quarter."

"Oh my god," said Caroline, "You assholes don't get it, do you? First of all, you can't beat me." Her words just incurred mocking laughter from the ten vampires who had sized her up and obviously decided she was an easy target, rumours be damned. "Secondly, Klaus Mikaelson, who I'm pretty sure is _King, _won't be too happy."

She felt a little silly using Klaus' name like that, but if it meant no bloodshed, she'd swallow her pride.

"Mikaelson is gonna forget you," said one female vampire dismissively. "You're not even that pretty."

Caroline rolled her eyes, "Well, this has been fun, can I go now?"

"Not a chance in hell," said her earlier attacker and he bared his fangs. "This is for Josh."

He lunged forward, pushing her by the shoulders, but Caroline fought back, taking her hand and swiping it across his face, drawing blood. He reeled back just a moment, and in that short moment the scent of pure, fresh, _vampire _blood wafted through the air –and that was all it took.

The Augustine Vampire was ready for a fight.

* * *

Not far away, Kol found his older brother leaning against the outside wall of a bar, bottle of bourbon in hand as he chugged it down greedily.

"You're scaring the tourists," said Kol drily as he took the bottle and took a swig. "New Orleans will be no fun without them, where am I supposed to get my blood from?"

Klaus snatched it back and glared at him, "You're welcome to leave this city, anytime."

Kol smirked. "Now why would I do that when I can stay and annoy my big brother?" he asked.

"I thought you would be busy taking down an evil conspiracy."

"And who better to help me?"

"You clearly thought better for a _year!"_

"Is that what's really bothering you?" said Kol suddenly, scrutinizing his brother. "Are you more concerned about Silas, or the fact that I waited for a year before coming here?"

He received no response for a moment, but then Klaus looked away from him, and stared unblinkingly into the street. "I watched you burn, Kol," he said darkly. "I watched you burn on the floor of the Gilbert house. I watched over your body for days."

All the answers to so many questions hung in the air between the two brothers, but none were said out loud.

"I know you did, Nik," said Kol quietly. "While you were watching me, I was watching you."

Klaus snapped his gaze up to his brothers' and they stared at each other in silence. Klaus started to speak but stilled, hearing something…not right, in the distance. "Can you hear that?" he asked.

Kol focused and could just make out a scream and the sound of snarls. "Fuck – _Caroline." _

Nothing more was said as they followed the sounds and came to a skidding halt in front of an alleyway in Bourbon Street, with headless bodies strewn around, blood seeping through cracks. A now familiar sight greeted them, that of Caroline drenched in blood, a body falling from her hands, eyes darkened and mind lost to bloodlust.

"What happened here?!" roared Klaus, drawing her attention. She stumbled slightly, just enough for Kol to flash forward and grab her arms, restraining her while Klaus looked towards a young female vampire who had not been completely killed, though her throat bled profusely.

"Tell me what happened," he asked, crouching down and compelling her quickly, hearing Caroline snarl nearby.

"We ambushed her," said the vampire weakly. "We wanted to kill her for what she did…but she killed – she started killing…" With a growl, Klaus reached down and finished Caroline's work, tearing out the vampire's heart and ending her life, incensed people were now making attempts at the blondes life. He stood up and looked to her, and it looked like she was managing to shake herself out of her trance somewhat, taking in the carnage.

"Oh my god," she muttered, the smell of blood too overwhelming. "D-Dawsons" she said and before Klaus could stop him, Kol had neatly snapped her neck.

"What the bloody hell was that for?!" Klaus roared. "She didn't need that!"

"She says the word, I snap her neck, that was the deal!" said Kol, lifting Caroline into his arms.

"It was a ridiculous deal that was your way of controlling her!" Klaus said in accusation.

"You have no place to talk, brother, you have no idea of what we went through!"

"And whose fault was that?!" Klaus shot back. "All of this, all of your games and schemes, how do I know you're not just angling to cause chaos in retribution for what's happened to you?"

"Do you even listen to yourself?" asked Kol, exasperated. "Do you even remember what Silas did? How he rendered you _weak, _made you feel _powerless, _do you remember none of that?! _I was trying to prevent that!_"

Klaus reeled back from the force of Kol's words. It was not something he had considered too seriously, to be honest. "All this time – Christ, all this time you were trying to do the _right thing_?"

Kol rolled his eyes, and hoisted Caroline a little higher. "Well of course, brother. Why do you think she helped me?"

"Kol –"

"Clean this up, will you? And when you're finally convinced that something is happening that _isn't _about you, come find us."

* * *

_**A MOTEL IN COLUMBUS, INDIANA  
APRIL, 2014**_

_Kol slammed the key into the motel room door, and flung it open, marching in and shutting it with a loud bang, uncaring of who might be woken up at this late hour. So caught up in his fury was he, that it actually took him a moment to notice the figure sitting on one of the beds. _

"_Caroline?" he asked in slight disbelief. _

_She gave a small smile and stood, slowly. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a set of car keys. "Sorry I stole your car," she said sheepishly. _

_In an instant, he had her pinned to a wall by her throat, she kicked her feet and fought for breath. "Back so soon?" he asked callously. "Or are you going to be running off in a moment?"_

"_K-Kol – just let me explain," she struggled to say, "I want – I want to help!"_

_With a frown, he let her go and she slid to the ground, glaring at him as she stood again. "As I was trying to say," she said, rubbing her neck. "I think – no, I want to help you."_

_Kol frowned, looking her over. "And why the sudden change of heart?" he asked skeptically. _

_Caroline fidgeted and looked down, playing with the ring on her finger. "Look…I freaked out because I remember what Silas did to us in Mystic Falls. And he was powerful, and strong and honestly, he freaked the hell out of me. I didn't want to deal with that again."_

"_So you said," said Kol drily but Caroline held up a hand to silence him._

"_Let me finish. Honestly, I still don't want to deal with him…but I know I can't just sit by and let him come back. I have to do something. So, I'm going to help you. I'm on your team now." _

"_Well," said Kol a little awkwardly. "Thank you, I suppose. That's very…nice of you." _

_Caroline laughed at his stilted gratitude. "Don't mention it. If the second most homicidal psychopath I know is going to do this, I guess I should too."_

_Kol smiled, then furrowed his brow. "Wait, second most homicidal psychopath?! Who's the first?"_

"_Your crazy brother," she said rolling her eyes. "By the way, shouldn't you have told him something about this by now?"_

"_Tell Nik? Are you insane? After how he reacted to the possibility of Silas last time, I'm keeping this from him for a good long while. I'd rather not have come back to life just to end up in a box."_

_Caroline didn't look convinced by his explanation, but she shrugged it off. "Fine, it's your call, I guess. But you know, you're going to have to see him eventually."_

"_We'll deal with that when it happens, shall we?"_

* * *

Caroline slipped her tank top over her head, followed by the cotton shorts she slept in, then reached for a towel to run through her damp hair. Nothing like a nice, hot shower to destress, post-slaughter. She winced internally at the reminder of all she had done that night, but tried to temper her guilt-after all, she had been ambushed. Though, she's pretty sure the self-defense excuse went out the window as soon as they had realized she was more than capable of taking them down and tried to run from her…

Oh well. Water under the bridge. At least, that's what she told herself as she focused on other, happier matters, like how she was going to redecorate the bathroom, and get rid of the ugly wallpaper. Seriously, did thousand year old vampires have no taste?

A slight shuffling drew her attention and she tensed, wondering if someone was trying another ambush, though she thought it highly unlikely that anyone would be so eager to try and go after her considering what she had just pulled. Then again, it was probably just Kol wanting to complain about Klaus some more.

"Hey Kol, if you're going to start ranting about Klaus some more, don't break any furniture!" she called out, receiving no response. Frowning, she opened the door and peeked out, finding a familiar hybrid standing in her bedroom.

"Klaus! Oh, sorry, I thought you were-"

"I know, love," he said, eyeing her body. "I must say I find it very interesting that upon hearing someone enter your bedroom late at night, you immediately assume it's my brother."

Caroline rolled her eyes at his obvious implication and the jealously behind his words, choosing not to dignify it with a response and walking over to a vanity, grabbing a comb and running it through her hair.

"So, this is the second time you've been here after I've – you know – gone batshit crazy on some vampires, is this going to become a regular thing?" she asked jokingly, trying not to sound too shaken by what had happened.

"I certainly wouldn't mind it," said Klaus, letting his eyes roam over her long legs, almost completely exposed by the sinfully short length of her shorts. To say nothing about the sheerness of her tank top, and his throat went dry, forcing himself to move his eyes up from her chest.

Caroline noticed his sudden silence though she faced a mirror, she could see him eyeing her up and down, and it caused a rush of heat to go through her. And suddenly, she was very, _very _aware that it was in fact just the two of them, in her bedroom, with her wearing not that much.

"Well, uh, anything you want to talk about?" Caroline asked nervously, hoping he wasn't about to fly into another rage and destroy her apartment.

"In the morning, I think, and with my brother," Klaus said. "I will admit to being a bit blindsided by the news."

"I can relate," said Caroline with a small smile. "But it's all true. Seriously. All the stuff we've done…"

"You can explain it all in the morning," said Klaus, his tone softening.

"So why are you here now?" Caroline asked, confused.

(She wouldn't admit it, but it's nice to know he's checking in on her, just to make sure she's okay.)

"You lost control today," said Klaus, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I was there," said Caroline drily. "What's your point."

"You said you weren't getting enough vampire blood, and the longer you went without it, the worse the cravings got."

"That's true – but I can deal with it."

Klaus simply raised an eyebrow. "Can you? And what if more vampires come after you? More news of slaughter will spread, and Caroline, I _swear _to you that I will get to the bottom of this, but until I do, I'd rather you had a way to keep yourself satiated so that my brother won't keep snapping your neck. I'd rather not watch that happen again."

Caroline's breath hitched at the resolve in his tone, and had barely noticed him coming closer, though now she stood with her back pressed against the vanity and Klaus inches away. "What – what exactly are you proposing?" she asked.

"My blood. I'm offering you my blood."

Caroline's eyes widened and she stuttered, unable to form a proper response to that. "Your – oh wow – actually?"

Klaus nodded, a small smirk spreading on his face. "What's wrong sweetheart, not up to your taste?"

"Oh no, it's fine, it's great – I mean it's blood and…" she trailed off, unwilling to sound like an idiot while she properly processed exactly what he was offering her.

"Do you mean, you want me to…" Caroline trailed off, focusing her gaze on Klaus' neck, taking a deep breath to alleviate the sudden burst of bloodlust she was feeling.

"I didn't think you'd be so willing to go quite that far," said Klaus, and Caroline could _hear _the innuendo in the words, his voice dripping with charm.

"You thought right," she said firmly, snapping herself back into reality. "I mean, thank you, but I don't think it would be the…_best _idea. I can take care of myself, really."

Klaus frowned a little, "I know you can, Caroline, but consider my offer. I'd give you a blood bag of my blood to start, and a little bit a day should be enough to keep you in check."

Caroline licked her lips nervously, considering his proposal. Much as she didn't want to admit it, there was some sense in it. If she was actually getting vampire blood, the craving for it wouldn't be as strong the next time she got into a fight. And there definitely would be a _next time_, she was sure of it.

"We can try it," she said finally. "We can try it, and see it works."

Klaus grinned widely, "I'm glad you see it that way, sweetheart."

"Blood bags, though!" said Caroline sternly. "I'm not suggesting - this isn't my way of saying that you and I should…" she trailed off, blushing bright red, she was sure and Klaus just chuckled at her.

"Goodnight, Caroline. Get some rest." She relaxed, expecting him to flash away, but before he did, he leant forward and pressed his lips against her cheek. Caroline gasped, and a rush of wind later, he was gone.

"Oh god…" she muttered, pressing her fingers against her cheek. She didn't know what she had just started, but somehow, she knew she wasn't going to be getting much sleep tonight.

_We live in cities you'll never see on screen  
Not very pretty, but we sure know how to run things  
Living in ruins of a palace within my dreams  
And you know, we're on each other's team_

* * *

**And that's a wrap! Please do leave a review and let me know what you think, I hope you're interested in my incorporation of certain parts of TVD mythology that I wish were elaborated on more. All of it fact-checked against what happened in the show, I promise!**

**Chapter title and song lyrics from 'Team' by Lorde**

**And now, I get to catch up on tonight's episode! Until next time. **


	6. Hey Brother

**Author's Note: Oh God, it's been far too long. And there are probably so many things I want to say, but I've been up for over thirty hours so I'm not sure how coherent it'll be. Thank you, thank you, to every single person who's read, commented, alerted, it's what keeping me going through the term paper slog, and I hope you enjoy this installment!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned this, I'd hire a better PR team.**

* * *

_Hey, brother, there's an endless road to re-discover.  
Hey, sister, know the water's sweet but blood is thicker.  
Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you  
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do._

_Hey, brother, do you still believe in one another?  
Hey, sister, do you still believe in love I wonder?  
Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you  
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do._

_**JULY, 2014  
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON**_

_Kol and Caroline peered up at the office building in front of them, both craning their heads back to see the top. The sun glinted off the glass panels, the light winking in their eyes and Caroline paused to appreciate the sunglasses perched on her nose. Around them, young professionals rushed to and fro, uncaring of the odd young couple who were silently standing still on the sidewalk. _

"_So…we just walk in and find her?" asked Caroline hesitantly. Their latest target was big on personal protection, as they had both discovered when they went to her house and found themselves nearly crippled over from the force of the protection spells she had cast. And their witch wasn't about to let herself be captured by two vampires on a mission, but if she wasn't going to come to them, they were going to go to her. A day of internet research and planning had resulted in an office address which Caroline was a little wary of – after all, this witch clearly had no problem guarding her house, why not here?_

"_I doubt it'll be too difficult," said Kol with a shrug._

"_Seriously?" asked Caroline, side-eyeing him through her sunglasses. "That's it? No gameplan? No exit strategy?"_

"_You're really getting into this, aren't you?" said Kol drily, but Caroline just shrugged him off with an eager grin. _

"_I've never gone deep cover before!"_

"_We're literally going to be ten minutes."_

_The blonde scoffed and tossed her hair over her shoulder, already moving to stride forward and live out her spy fantasy when she was tugged back sharply, Kol's fingers curled tightly around her arm. "What the hell?"_

"_Look around. Look carefully." He was suddenly very serious and Caroline took his advice, looking around the sidewalk. There was nothing out of the ordinary, just a large set of glass doors leading into the building through which people came and went, some planters placed around the doors – _

"_Oh my god – is that vervain?" Caroline didn't have to walk any closer to have her suspicions confirmed, the bright purple flowers were indication enough. It was hardly a weapon though – they couldn't do anything just sitting there. _

"_It's a warning," said Kol grimly. "A 'keep out' sign to all vampires."_

"_So what do we do now?" Caroline asked._

_Kol lost his seriousness and smirked, "Come on pet, where's your sense of adventure?" _

"_But you just said – "_

"_That the old hag wants us to stay away. Luckily, I've never been one to do what I'm told." Linking his arm through hers and tugging her along, Kol strode into the building, pushing his way past the glass doors and into an upscale lobby with smooth marble floors, sleek modern furniture composing a small waiting area in front of a reception desk. _

"_Here you go darling," said Kol quietly, slipping something small and plastic into her hand. It was a card, a driver's license, and while it had Caroline's picture, the name read 'Cecily Fairbanks.' _

"_Fake IDs?" asked Caroline, inspecting the card._

"_We're doing this the old-fashioned way," said Kol, holding up his own card that had the name 'Keith Mathers'. _

"_Where did you even get these?"_

"_I'm an Original darling, I know people. Now, get ready, and try to keep up alright?"_

_Caroline sniffed in indignation. "Excuse me, I'll have you know I was a drama major, I can keep up just fine."_

_Kol grinned. "Right then. Let's get to work."_

* * *

"Now, what's _your _name darling?" Kol smirked over the rim of his glass, eyeing the blonde behind the bar top who was frowning at his advances. She scoffed lightly at his question but Kol remained undeterred, hardly caring if she seemed uninterested. "Why so hostile, pet?" he asked with a pout, fake sincerity shining in his eyes.

"_Pet? _Seriously, that's like, ridiculously condescending."

Kol snorted, "Oh come on Camille, no need to get snippy."

Camille started, nearly dropping the glass she was wiping down. "How do you know my name?" she asked, her voice rife with suspicion.

Kol's predatorial grin widened. "Same way I know everything about this place," he said with a careless shrug. "You could say I'm _very _observant."

"So why even ask for it?"

"Just trying to be polite."

"Spare us Kol, you haven't been polite a day in your life." Klaus' voice entered the conversation as the hybrid took a seat on the barstool next to Kol's, gesturing to Camille who immediately placed a glass of bourbon in front of him.

"No need to be a grump Nik, everyone knows how charming I am," said Kol with a grin, leering at a fidgeting Camille who was quickly picking up just how dangerous Kol was.

"Spare us your false charms," said Klaus drily, taking a long sip of his drink.

"I learnt from the best, brother." Kol raised his glass in a toast to Klaus and the hybrid snorted, unable to help grinning.

"Wait, _brother?_ He's your – you have another brother?" Camille swung her head between the two Originals, both of whom tuned to her with raised eyebrows, a look of boredom so identical she wondered if _they_ even realized how strong the family resemblance was.

"Honestly Nik, did you tell no one I existed? No, don't answer that, I was there when you were dictating your memoirs, could you not have spared one chapter to your infinitely more interesting younger brother?"

Klaus rolled his eyes, "Kol, I could write a book based solely on your blunders over the centuries, it would be leagues more accurate."

Camille remained rooted in her spot, looking between the bickering brothers, "Excuse me, can we go back a second? What do you mean you were _there _when I was writing his memoirs, I never saw you?"

"I was a ghost."

"You were a – what?!"

"I was dead. Now I'm not." Kol appraised her with disdain, "Honestly, aren't you supposed to be smart?"

"Hey, I – "

"Camille, those gentlemen look thirsty," interrupted Klaus, nodding towards two men standing near the other end of the bar, and Camille recognized the dismissal, stalking off with one last glare at Kol, who was barely suppressing a laugh.

"What do you say Nik, shall we have a snack?" he asked once Camille was out of earshot, sipping his bourbon.

"Stay away from her Kol, she's Marcel's girlfriend and if you go and kill her I'll never hear the end of it."

Kol frowned into his glass, "You've gone soft Nik. Since when does it matter what the underlings think?"

"Perhaps I'm simply trying my hand in diplomacy, not everyone thrives on constant chaos." Klaus smirked at the sour look on his little brother's face at that statement, as if he had just uttered a great blasphemy.

"Bloody Elijah. He's finally rubbed off on you."

Klaus snorted. "Have faith. At least I don't wear suits all the time."

Both brothers broke out into laughter though an uneasiness between them remained. "Just don't start trying to lecture me too," said Kol. "I've spent a year on the road listening to Caroline attempt to reign me in, I'd like to think I can kill and feed unrepentantly here without much grief – unless you plan on sticking a dagger in me again."

Just like that, the events of yesterday were thrown in their faces and they felt the tension rise. Klaus, for once, didn't immediately harp on his brother's words, but sipped his drink silently, his face impassive.

Kol mimicked his older brother, deciding to let him break the silence first. He took the chance to glance around the nearly empty bar, finding few people present so early in the day. The vampires were all in their homes and the few humans present were day-drinkers who had their own sorrows to worry about without bothering a couple of Original vampires – not that they were even aware of the monsters that surrounded them. A couple of college girls were giggling in a corner booth, likely skipping class for the day and Kol eyed them for a moment before turning back to his brooding brother.

"Kol –" Klaus started to say, but stopped abruptly, pressing his lips into a thin line.

Kol recognized the gesture, the thing his brother had always done when he couldn't quite get out what he wanted to say. "Why so tense, Nik?"

Klaus looked up, thrown by Kol's nonchalance. "Really?" You're going to ignore what happened?" he asked skeptically.

Kol laughed but it held no humour. "Sorry, but I never forget these things."

Klaus furrowed his brow, more confused at his brother's words. "Then what are we doing? Why are we just sitting here, drinking?" Klaus stopped suddenly again, straightening up and clenching his fist on the bar. "What's going on, Kol?"

Kol rolled his eyes disdainfully, "Christ, must you _always _be so paranoid? Relax – this is us, isn't it Nik? Daggers one day, drinks the next, isn't that just how we do things?"

Klaus stiffened but acknowledged the truth of his brother's words. Kol had always been willing to forget such incidents quicker than Elijah or Rebekah, but he knew all those years in a box weighed heavily on his brother's mind. "Daggers and drinks, you're right," he said evenly.

Kol nodded pensively. "Out of curiosity, how long were you going to keep me under? A day? A week? Months, years – forever?"

"Kol , I don't think –"

"I suppose Caroline would have put up a fuss, but if you got Bekah and Elijah on your side she probably wouldn't have been able to do much – not that she would've let the Silas thing drop, mind you, so you would've had to deal with that – "

"For God's sake –"

"But I suppose you could've just compelled her to forget everything about Silas and played the white knight while helping her with her bloodlust –"

Klaus snapped then, snarling as he shot out his arm and grabbed Kol's collar, slamming his brother's head against the bar. He knew this was how Kol retaliated, he threw out callous words to elicit a reaction, but today his barbs hit closer than Klaus would've liked to admit. "You've made your point," he hissed. "But don't presume to know my methods."

Kol just chuckled, strained though it was with his head still pressed against the wood. "I don't presume anything Nik, I've got a thousand years of experience to tell me _exactly_ what to expect from you." He grinned even as Klaus' grip tightened, his brother never could take the truth. "Ease up, would you? Surely you can take a joke."

With a huff of annoyance, Klaus let go of Kol but kept the murderous glare on his face. The other patrons were sending him odd looks, but they ducked their heads quickly as he looked around, silencing them with a glance. Camille peeked up from the other end of the bar and looked like she wanted to say something, but Klaus' glare kept her quiet and the only sound to break the silence was Kol's chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"We're never going to get anywhere hunting Silas if we continue like this," said Kol bluntly, reaching over and under the bar for the first bottle he could find.

"I never planned on keeping you daggered for long," said Klaus gruffly, avoiding all eye-contact and choosing instead to stare ahead with a stony expression. "I don't know how long I would've kept you like that for – I was angry – "

"You're always angry," said Kol, pouring both their glasses with whiskey. "But we're on the same side, for once in our lifetimes." Both brothers took a sip of their drinks, lapsing into a short silence again, before Kol broke it suddenly.

"Do you remember Paris? Back during the Revolution?"

Though the reminder of that time was random, Klaus grinned in spite of himself, looking over to see Kol staring off with an almost wistful expression on his face. "The height of the terror, blood running through the streets…"

"We killed and fed and fucked girls and never stopped to give a damn about a single thing," said Kol, his voice rife with nostalgia. "Do you remember the siege on Versailles?"

Klaus laughed to himself, the distant memory of crowds screaming ringing through his years."I remember the look on the queen's face as they dragged her past me. She recognized me from the ball just weeks earlier – I danced with her."

"I slept with her," Kol said glibly.

Klaus stared at him skeptically. "You slept with Marie Antoinette?"

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Oh it's perfectly believable. Though I can only assume compulsion was involved, considering she had me in her bed first." Klaus couldn't keep the smug smile from spreading on his face while Kol rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say," said Kol dismissively, "We both know that the real fun was in the streets."

"We did make a good team then," said Klaus thoughtfully.

Kol gulped down his drink and then turned to face his brother fully, his face suddenly serious. "One thousand years…it wasn't all bad, right?"

Klaus copied his brother's actions, mulling over the question. "It wasn't," he said finally, "but start a speech about the sanctity of family and I'll think Elijah's rubbed off on _you_"

Just like that, Kol's grin returned and his mood lightened. "You do realize we're both going to have to tell him about Silas, right?"

Klaus grimaced, "Him and Rebekah will have to be let in, they're going to pitch a fit."

"They'll have to deal with it; it's not a problem that's going to away."

"Yes, but I think they'll take some convincing on why it's _our _problem."

"Weird, isn't it? Working together for once?" Kol grinned, and hopped off the barstool. "Before we get too sentimental, we should probably check in on our favourite blonde, she'll want to be there when we tell them. And before we find _her…_" Kol trailed off, looking over towards the college girls.

"Feeling peckish are you?" asked Klaus drily.

"What do you say brother – together, for old times' sake?"

* * *

Caroline coughed through the dust cloud that rose up as she tore down the old wallpaper, dropping in a heap at her feet. Her new apartment looked like a hurricane had torn through it, which was more or less an apt statement because when Caroline Forbes did something, she did it right. And if she was going to adjust to this new 'situation' then she was going to start by giving her new living space a complete makeover, preferably before Klaus destroyed too much of it in another fit of temper.

Cleaning materials were strewn over nearly every surface, and as Caroline finished with the last of the wallpaper, she turned her attention to the ugly curtains in front of the French doors that led to the balcony. Gripping them tightly, she brought them down in one sharp tug, mentally thanking her vampire strength for making house chores easy. Before kicking the curtains away, she opened up the doors to get some air into the stuffy room, and stepped out onto the balcony, leaning against the wrought iron railing and looking down over Royale Street, enjoying the view of New Orleans. It really was a beautiful city.

Before she could go back inside, the odd, unmistakable feeling of being watched came over her. Holding the railing tightly, she tried to look as composed as possible while surreptitiously glancing for any more possible stalkers. Looking at the building across from her's she could've sworn she saw a flash of movement, someone ducking out of the way of the window.

'_They've been watching us…'_

Kol's words rang clear in her head just as she heard the front door open and she panicked, expecting another ambush. Flashing back inside she grabbed a broom and snapped it cleanly over her knee, raising the improvised stake just as the intruder came inside.

"Morning Sweets – what in God's name are you doing?"

Kol quirked an eyebrow as he watched Caroline heave a sigh of relief and drop her weapon, Klaus shutting the door behind him as he came in too.

"I thought I held the role of paranoid one," said Klaus drily as he looked Caroline over carefully. "Are you alright? I know last night was a bit of a trial."

"No, I'm fine, just being stupid," said Caroline, waving him off. "I just thought I saw – look, it doesn't matter."

Klaus walked closer, itching to reach out and touch her but restraining himself, mindful of Kol in the room. "It matters a great deal, Caroline, what's worrying you?"

"I was on the balcony and it felt like someone was watching me," she reluctantly admitted, regretting the words as soon as Klaus snarled and went straight to the balcony himself, searching for any sign of danger.

"Now you've done it," said Kol, sauntering closer. "He's going to post guards out here, I hope you realize that."

Caroline rolled her eyes at Klaus' actions as the hybrid came back inside and locked the doors, scowling as he took a seat on the couch. "I'll have some vampires posted close-by as soon as possible."

"No way," said Caroline immediately, "you are _not _giving me babysitters!"

"Caroline, you were attacked not twelve hours ago, don't you think that warrants caution?" asked Klaus tersely, not willing to compromise on her safety, regardless of how opposed she was.

"I'm pretty sure I sent a clear message when I _killed _them all!" Caroline shot back, her fists clenching at the unpleasant memory. It was not something she was ever going to be proud of, but at the very least, it would deter more people from coming after her.

"You don't know that it was part of something larger," insisted Klaus.

Before they could really get into it, Kol cleared his throat, looking between them with a smarmy grin. "As much as I hate to break up this lover's spat – "

(He wished he had a camera to capture the exact shade of red Caroline's face went.)

"–we need to discuss the issue at hand. What are we going to do about Silas?"

Caroline exhaled loudly, moving to sit next to Klaus (just a little closer than was probably necessary – but that meant nothing, _really_) and propped her chin up on her elbow, leaning it on her knee. "How are we going to stop him if everybody on that stupid list keeps running away? We have no clue where they're going, we have no way of tracking them."

"I suspect we'll have to get a number of witches involved," said Klaus, mentally calculating how they willing the Quarter witches would be to participate in all of this.

"I'm sure they'll be fully aboard," said Kol sarcastically, walking to the pile of ripped wallpaper and kicking at it aimlessly. "By the way, what the bloody hell happened to my apartment?"

"Uh, it's _my _apartment now, remember?" said Caroline pointedly. "If I'm going to stay in New Orleans, I'm going to need this place to look fabulous."

"As long as you _are _staying," said Klaus softly and Caroline turned to see him staring at her fondly. Quickly, he darted out his hand and squeezed her knee and she smiled back at him, appreciating his steadfast support of her. His proposition from last night was still at the forefront of her mind, and when they did actually cross that bridge – it would be hard, _very _hard, for her to pretend that there was any way they could maintain any sort of distance.

"Good god, is this going to be a constant thing?" Kol's voice pierced their small moment and before Klaus could snap at him, a dusty pillow was flung at him from Caroline, which Kol dodged with ease. "Easy Sweets!" he said, chuckling as they both glared at him. "I'm simply suggesting that you both save these lovely displays of affection for when we don't have to deal with the immortal and his crazy fans."

"Well, if we can't find any more cult members, what do we do first?" asked Caroline, looking between the two Originals.

"We have to tell Elijah and Rebekah," said Klaus, ignoring Kol's groan.

Caroline nodded along, knowing that it was an inevitable conversation. "They're not going to be happy about this, are they?" she asked Kol.

"They're going to complain and whine and do everything within their power to pretend it's not happening," said Kol derisively.

"Give them some credit," said Caroline, "they know how dangerous Silas is now."

Kol just scoffed and crossed his arms petulantly. "Doesn't mean they'll be of any good," he muttered.

Caroline sighed and stood up, "Look, we'll tell them tonight, and I guess we'll find out then."

"Why wait until tonight?" asked Klaus.

"Because now I have to get rid of this wallpaper, and you two need to go change."

Kol and Klaus exchanged confused glances before turning back to Caroline. "Why would we need to do that, love?" Klaus asked.

"Because you both have blood on your collars. What, is hunting innocents a bonding activity for you?"

"It's an Original Family thing," said Kol as he moved to leave, Klaus following after shooting her a parting grin.

"Have fun redecorating sweetheart!" he called over his shoulder.

"You know you could both help!" said Caroline over the pile of ripped wallpaper in her arms but she was met with the sound of her front door banging shut. "Stupid vampires," she muttered to herself.

* * *

_**JULY, 2014  
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON**_

_Kol and Caroline sat beside each other in the small reception are of the building's lobby, casting glances at the stony faced security officer who staunchly refused to let them get past him and into the elevator to track down their target. Compulsion was quickly proved to be futile, and it was a safe bet that every single person in this building was protected somehow, whether or not they even realized it. _

"_How long are we going to wait here?" asked Caroline tiredly, running a hand through her hair. _

"_She has to come out sometime. I'm all for just killing the rent-a-cop though," said Kol with a hard glare at the man. _

"_I thought we agreed that we had to stay low-profile!" said Caroline. "Do you want to catch this one or not? The minute people start turning up dead, she runs, and _you _were the one who said we were doing things the old-fashioned way." _

_Kol was about to snap at her but a loud clatter brought their attention over to a harried looking young woman who had dropped a stack of files and was hurriedly gathering them together, muttering something about 'Ms. Jenkins' under her breath. _

"_Kol…did she just say 'Jenkins'?" Caroline asked, but before she could get an answer Kol was already striding through the lobby and was kneeling down to help the girl, charming smile plastered firmly on his face. _

"_Hey, need a hand?" _

_From her spot on the sofa, Caroline's eyes widened upon hearing his voice. Instead of the distinctive English accent she was used to, he was using a starkly different American one, sounding no different than any boy she had gone to high school with. _

"_I'm Keith," he said as he helped the woman to her feet, and she smiled back gratefully._

"_Harriet," she said with a slight stutter, clearly disarmed by the handsome stranger who had helped her and Caroline decided to intervene, quickly walking over to join the two of them. As she came to stand next to Kol, the young woman's face fell ever so slightly but Caroline painted on her most pleasant smile and tried to look reassuring. She noticed then that the girl was wearing a rather unique necklance – a clear teardrop pendant that held a distinctive purple flower crumpled up inside. Compulsion was useless; it was time to bring out the big guns. _

_Caroline's flair for the dramatic got away from her and before she could help herself, the words "Hello _darling,_ I'm Cecily," were tumbling from her mouth with polish, her voice quickly adopting the most posh English accent she could muster. _

_(What? She had seen Downton Abbey.)_

_Kol nearly broke character, weirded out as he looked but he overcame it quickly as he matched his smile to Caroline's, facing Harriet who looked between them with wide eyes. "Are you two here with an appointment?" _

"_Uh, no, but we're very interested in…environmental health," said Kol, remembering what it was that the witch actually did for a living. It made sense for a servant of nature to devote herself to helping the planet, even if it did make him roll his eyes at the heavy-handedness of it all. _

"_Actually love, we were hoping to meet with Madeline Jenkins, you wouldn't happen to know if we could get up to see her, would you? We'd just be a jiffy," added Caroline, who was feeling very pleased by her act. _

"_Oh, I'm actually her assistant!" said Harriet eagerly. "Ms. Jenkins is actually taking a short sabbatical, but if you want I can get you into contact with Mr. Churchill, he's going to be holding a conference on the preservation of the Northern British Columbia rainforests later –"_

"_Actually Harriet, we really, really need to see your boss, any chance you could give her a call and set up an appointment? Please?" Kol's voice dripped with charm, doing his damned best to cajole her into doing what he wanted. Harriet looked hesitant but turned to the reception desk and dumped her files, pulling out her cellphone. _

"_You know what, let me see if I can't find a hole in her schedule, maybe you could teleconference!" _

"_Oh jolly good!" said Caroline cheerfully, and as Harriet tapped her phone, Kol turned to face the blonde and pulled her away by the elbow. _

"_What the bloody hell are you doing?" he asked in a barely audible whisper, sounding much more like himself. _

"_I'm improvising! And in case you haven't noticed, it's working!" _

"_You sound ridiculous!"_

"_I sound great! And this way, if anyone asks Harriet later, she'll tell them that she ran into an American guy and a British girl, it'll throw people off our trail if we really are being followed."_

_Kol huffed but couldn't argue Caroline's logic, and before he could respond, Harriet was calling their names. _

"_I'm so sorry, but it looks like Ms. Jenkins isn't going to be accepting any new clients anytime soon," she said apologetically. "In fact, she specifically requested that we do nothing to contact her while she's away."_

_Caroline glanced over at Kol, who wore a small frown, and she knew they were thinking the same thing. _

"_She doesn't have a return date yet, does she?" asked Kol. _

_Harriet shook her head glumly, and Caroline sighed. "One more thing, Harriet. I love your necklace, what's the flower inside?"_

"_Oh it's vervain! You know, it was actually a Christmas present from Ms. Jenkins, she's so sweet about things like that. She loves the flower, she's insisted they plant it outside the building year-round, no exceptions."_

"_You don't say," said Caroline, sounding resigned, but Kol was pulling her along and she knew it was time for them to make their exit. "It was lovely to meet you darling!" she called out over her shoulder as they both walked out onto the busy sidewalk again, quickly making their way down the busy street. _

"_Another one bites the dust," said Caroline, back to her natural accent. "How do they always know that we're coming? We've been getting more and more careful!"_

"_Well, I'm sure wherever they are, they're having a 'jolly' time outwitting us," said Kol drily. "And please, for the love of all that is good and holy, don't ever try that again."_

_Caroline gasped at him indignantly. "Hey, that was golden!"_

"_That was rubbish, sorry to say. Maybe consider taking lessons?" Kol grinned as he heard her growl lightly, and laughed as she punched him in the arm. _

"_Lessons, puh-lease, I was a drama major!"_

* * *

The bar was much busier at during the late evening, all manner of supernatural creatures having come out of the woodwork to have a good time. Klaus, Kol and Caroline sat around a booth that was neatly tucked away in a corner, avoiding the prying stares of Camille as well as some of the other vampires who were casting suspicious glances in their direction, only to be cowed as soon as Klaus caught their eye.

"How many vampires live in this city?" asked Caroline quietly, surprised at how big the crowd appeared to be.

"A large amount," said Klaus with pride. "We built this city to be a haven for the supernatural."

"While I was in a coffin," muttered Kol with irritation.

"Shut up, I let you out. And need I remind you that the first thing you did was run away to Europe?" Klaus asked.

"Well it was much more interesting over there, as we were discussing," said Kol with a dark grin.

Caroline watched them bicker, alluding to a past she knew she was better off staying in the dark about, for now anyway. Before they could continue for much longer, two bodies slipped into the booth and she looked up to see a fairly irritated Rebekah and a stony-faced Elijah staring at the three of them.

"Alright, we're here," said Rebekah with a sniff. "Care to explain why we're wasting our time?"

"Why, have a new suitor waiting on you?" asked Kol drily, then turning to Elijah. "What about you, big brother? Waiting to slip out to the bayou?"

Elijah wrinkled his nose ever so slightly, and Caroline took it as the only sign they would get that he was rankled by his brother's words. Rebekah on the other hand made no secret of her displeasure, looking ready to jump across the table and rip out her brother's throat.

"Listen you little git, _you _called _us _here, so it would be lovely if you could _get to the point._"

Kol narrowed his eyes at Rebekah, leaning back against the leather seat. "You know what would really be lovely, Bekah? If all the surviving members of my family hadn't conspired to have me killed not a day earlier, but we can't always get what we want, can we?" he asked disdainfully.

"Let's not get off topic," said Elijah quickly. "May I assume you two have decided to break your silence?" he stared at Kol and Caroline pointedly, causing the latter to squirm slightly, though Kol remained unaffected, more than used to his brother's tactics.

"We have in fact," said Kol, sounding too bored for the situation. "You can ask Nik."

"They told me everything," Klaus confirmed with a small nod.

"Well that's brilliant, care to fill us in?" asked Rebekah, miffed to be out of the loop.

Caroline leant forward on the table and toyed with her daylight ring, looking over at Kol hesitantly. He sat up straight and looked between his brother and sister grimly. "You two might want to get comfortable. It's a long story."

Twenty minutes later, the four vampires and the hybrid sat in a stunned silence. Rebekah kept opening and closing her mouth, unable to decide on what she wanted to say, while Elijah simply pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I don't understand," said Rebekah finally. "I don't understand how you could possibly decide to just keep news like this to yourselves! What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that the threat of Silas wasn't enough to get either of you to do much about him last time around," said Kol with a sneer. "Silas came to Mystic Falls and what did you do? You cared more about that precious cure and living a pathetically _human _life, so excuse me for thinking you'd be any use this time around."

Rebekah growled under her breath, "Silas stole the cure from me, he took away my chance at being a human again, how could you think I wouldn't want revenge for that?"

"Revenge on the world's oldest and most powerful warlock, oh I'm sure that would go over well."

"I'm an _Original!"_ Rebekah hissed, slamming her hand down on the table.

"And a fat lot of good that will do you," said Kol with a scoff, turning towards Klaus. "Or has Nik not told you what happened to him at Silas' mercy?"

Klaus and Caroline both stiffened of the memory of that long afternoon, Silas' mind tricks completely putting Klaus through the ringer. Elijah finally looked up and stared down his brother, casting his mind back to those days just before they had left for New Orleans. Silas had played his fair share of tricks on all of them but Klaus – Klaus has endured the worst of it.

"How exactly did Silas get in your head?" asked Elijah curiously, realizing now that perhaps he should've pressed for more details all that time ago. His brother's reticence was all but legendary, but this was something that he should've known.

"It doesn't matter now," said Klaus, dismissing the matter entirely. "He got in, but he was just playing mind tricks, I managed to shake him off." He shot a quick glance towards Caroline (was that a smile on her face?) but quickly steered the topic back to the matter at hand. "The bottom line is, I'm not about to let his fanclub resurrect him."

"How very noble-minded of you," said Elijah, raising an eyebrow in skepticism.

"I never would've thought you so adamant to play hero," said Rebekah to Kol. "What's in it for you?"

"Must there be a gain? Perhaps I'd simply like to avoid bedlam descending upon the entire world, isn't that reason enough?"

Kol, for the first time in a long time, was being perfectly sincere, so no matter how weird it was to her, Rebekah decided to accept that answer for now before turning towards Kol's partner in crime. "And what about _you?"_

"What about me?" asked Caroline, a little indignantly. "Silas was an asshole, he nearly killed _everybody, _the stuff he did to my friends was _so _fucked up, of course I don't want that again!"

"So where are they then?" asked Rebekah with a catlike smile, knowing she had found a weak spot. "Your loyal friends, the old gang from Mystic Falls, isn't this goody-two shoes nonsense right up their alley?"

Caroline was now sitting up completely straight, doing her best to keep herself completely composed, thought Rebekah's words had hit a little too close to the mark. "They're just – they've got things going on. I decided to do this myself," she said, just a little too quietly to be properly convincing.

Rebekah wasn't convinced by the thin excuse either but before she could tear into Caroline's response, Kol had narrowed his eyes at his little sister and was cutting her off. "Enough of this prattle, we need to decided what to do next."

"Like we even know what that involves?" asked Caroline rubbing her temples. "We went to every location on that stupid map, we found nothing, we found that stupid list, but even that's useless – what, is someone just going to walk in and give us a clue?"

"_Oh my God_! Keith? Cecily? Is that you?"

Caroline's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "No. _No way_. Not possible."

Kol and Caroline snapped their heads up and turned to see a beaming Harriet, Madeline Jenkins' assistant from Seattle, standing not five feet away from their table.

Caroline's mouth hung open in shock before she felt herself practically being shoved out of the booth as Kol pushed past her and stood, pulling her up to stand right next to him.

"Hey, Harriet, right? It's great to see you again!"

Kol easily slipped into his American accent and his smirk caused a blush to rise on the young woman's cheeks. Harriet giggled, any shyness having been long eradicated if the cosmopolitan in her hand was an indication. "I remember you guys from – what was it, six months ago? – how weird is it that you're here?"

"Oh it's been much too long, _darling_," said Caroline airily, drawing out the word _'daaahling' _in a way that she thought was perfectly authentic, and even if it wasn't, poor, tipsy Harriet certainly wasn't going to pick up on it.

Behind them, Rebekah looked towards her brothers, their looks of confusion matching hers. "Do either of you have any clue what they're doing?" she asked them, bewildered, but they just shook their heads, and continued to watch.

"So Harriet, what are you doing here?" asked Kol, gently taking Harriet by the elbow and steering her into a corner of the bar where they would have some modicum of privacy, nodding for Caroline to follow.

"I'm here for a week, Ms. Jenkins wanted me to personally deliver some files to one of her business associates, it was _veeery _important that _I _deliver it personally." Harriet giggled as Kol and Caroline cornered her, not even realizing what she was telling them.

Caroline reached over and grabbed Kol's arm, her face lighting up in a grin. "Harriet, who did you deliver the files to?" she asked the girl carefully

Harriet stiffened suddenly. "A business associate," she said evenly, her eyes glassy as she stared at them unblinkingly. Something was suddenly very wrong, the chipper young girl from moments before seemed to have melted away, leaving this still statue in her place.

"Tell us where this 'associate' is," demanded Kol, his voice hard as steel.

"It was just a business associate," said Harriet again, her voice flat.

"Fuck," Kol swore under his breath. "She's not going to be able to give us anything."

"But – this isn't compulsion, it can't be," said Caroline peering into Harriet's eyes. "Can witches spell people into secrecy?"

"Don't ever underestimate what a driven witch with a secret can do," said Kol darkly before finally coming to a decision. "I've had enough of this nonsense, let's just do what we should've done months ago." With that, Kol wrapped his hand around the vervain pendant Harriet wore and before Caroline could stop him, he had ripped it from her neck.

"Was that necessary?" asked Caroline exasperatedly, noting the small trickle of blood where Harriet's necklace had dug into her skin as Kol had torn it off.

"Oh this is much better," he said with a smirk, then leaned forward to look the girl in the eye. "Alright darling, tell us everything you know about this mystery business your boss has you on."

"She – she…" But whatever the truth was, it was lost to the sudden coughing fit that overcame the young woman, and she brought a hand up to cover her mouth, shrieking when she pulled it away and realized it was covered in blood.

"Harriet!" Caroline lurched forward just as the girl's body slumped forward, racked with another coughing fit, only the spasms were much too violent to be natural. "What the hell is happening to her?!" she asked, panicked, looking up at Kol who for once looked to be at a complete loss for words.

Desperate, Caroline sank her fangs into her wrist and held it over Harriet's mouth, but the poor girl was having none of it, her body fighting until it finally went limp, her eyes blank and lifeless. "Oh my god," muttered Caroline to herself. "She just – what happened?!"

Kol looked between the dead girl in Caroline's arms and to the necklace in his hand. "This was was that witch's insurance policy, so that no one, especially not a vampire, would ever figure out what she was up to. It would seem innocent lives are small collateral to these people," he said grimly. "But we knew that. They've been willing to kill themselves off, they'll obviously kill others to keep their secret."

"What in God's name happened here?" Elijah's voice interrupted their confusion and he stood over Caroline with Klaus and Rebekah at his side. "Did you two do this?"

"For God's sake Elijah, this wasn't us," snapped Kol, throwing the necklace to his brother. "She died the minute that necklace came off, see if you can't speak to one of the Quarter witches and reverse engineer the spell, maybe it can tell us about the woman who cast it. More specifically, her whereabouts."

Elijah gave his brother a searching look, but ultimately decided he was telling the truth. "I'll see if Celeste or the others can shed some insight," he said before turning on his heel, Rebekah following him.

"What are we going to do with Harriet?" asked Caroline sadly, looking down at the body. She hadn't known her at all, but always felt sympathy for the ones who ended up being pawns in the larger game, nothing more than collateral damage.

(How close had she come to being the same thing?)

"Here, I'll take her," said Kol, scooping up the body. "Nik, is there a back way out of here?"

Klaus nodded stiffly, pointing towards the direction of the back kitchen. "Take her through there, there's a door that leads out into a side-alley. Can you find your way to a cemetery without being seen by the humans?"

"I'm hurt that you have to ask," said Kol, and he gave a quick parting nod to Caroline before flashing away, the entire bar none too wrapped up in their own world to even notice.

Caroline let out a shuddering breath, still on her knees where she had caught Harriet's body. A warm hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present, and she closed her eyes tightly, taking one deep breath and stamping down the panic and grief inside her. This was not the time or place. In a flash she was on her feet, her face a mask of perfect composure as she looked up at Klaus, but the skepticism in his eyes told her he didn't buy her act for a second.

"Caroline, I know that must have been rather –"

"Don't," she said, not unkindly, but firmly. "I didn't know her at all. It was sad that she died, but – it's what happens, right?"

Klaus bit back a retort, knowing that any condolence out of his mouth would be a trite lie. It _was _what happened. People died, they got caught in the crossfire, he himself had been responsible for enough innocent deaths to know that much. So he opted instead for saying nothing, simply keeping close to Caroline as they both turned to walk through the bar and start on their way home. Or at least, they would have been had Caroline not frozen next to him, her hand shooting out to grab his arm, as she suddenly craned her neck to search through the crowd of vampires.

"What wrong?" he asked, on edge immediately.

Caroline sighed in frustration and eased her posture, shaking her head. "God, sorry I thought I saw someone watching me, but obviously I'm becoming a paranoid nut, ignore me."

But Klaus wasn't about to ignore her, not after the ambush yesterday or her suspicions that someone was watching her earlier today. Instead, he grasped her hand firmly and pulled her out of the bar and onto the sidewalk where he quickly scanned the street for any sign of someone ducking out of sight, into the shadows. However, he found nothing.

"Klaus – Klaus!" Caroline snapped her fingers in front of his face to bring his attention back on her. "Look, it's probably nothing, I'm just on edge."

"But how do you know it's nothing?" asked Klaus tersely. "You were attacked yesterday!"

"That was a one time thing!"

"You can't know that!" Klaus insisted.

Caroline sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Look, it's been a busy night, I'm just going to go home."

"I'll walk you," Klaus said immediately, softening at her scoff.

"Seriously? I'm a big girl; I think I can make it home by myself."

"Nevertheless, I'd rather the vampires here got used to seeing you by my side," said Klaus, smirking as he tucked Caroline's arm in the crook of his elbow and smirking triumphantly when she didn't pull it away. They started down the street, side by side and Klaus found that this was something he could definitely get used to.

"God, again with the alpha-male crap?" she asked sarcastically. "Good to know some things never change."

* * *

Strolling down St. Ann Street, Marcel took the time to enjoy the sounds of the city that poured out from the buildings, the life and heartbeat of the city thrumming like a steady beat. As he walked, a figure fell into step next to him, saying nothing for a moment, until finally breaking his silence.

"They were at Rousseau's tonight," said the stranger, reaching into his jacket for a pack of cigarettes and lighting one up. "They were talkin' to Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah – it looked serious. Then this chick showed up, called them the wrong names but they looked like they knew her. Took her over to a corner and I couldn't see what happened but she just dropped dead. Fuckin' weird."

"But do you have any clue what they're up to?" asked Marcel harshly. "I need to know what their gameplan is."

"Look, I don't got a clue," said the stranger, "But I can tell you that the blonde bitch thinks she's bein' watched and Klaus don't like it."

"Well then, you're just going to have to be more careful in the future, aren't you?" said Marcel sternly and the stranger got the message.

Together, they continued down the street while Marcel went over everything he knew. Slowly, he was putting together a plan – but it would need to be perfect. It would need to be foolproof.

And one way or another – it would have to get him back _his _city.

_Ah, what if I'm far from home?  
Oh, brother, I will hear you call.  
What if I lose it all?  
Oh, sister, I will help you out!  
Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you  
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do._

* * *

**And like Caroline, I really need to get some sleep. Please do leave a review and let me know what you think, definitely feel free to ask any questions, and I'll see you all in the next one!**

**Chapter title and song lyrics are from 'Hey Brother' by Avicii. **

**(Feel free to follow me on tumblr at hummingbirds-and-champagne)**


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